Mexicans wave hello

• MEXICAN acoustic duo Rodrigo Y Gabriela are due to follow up their cult classic debut album in 2009.
The pair have left their adopted home of Ireland to fly to Ixtapa in Mexico to record their second studio album, due to be released in Summer 2009.
• The new album from Colin Blunstone, formerly of The Zombies, is also in the pipeline - however its release has been delayed due to an exploding mixing desk.
Fans waiting for the release of The Ghost Of You And Me are now likely to have to wait until March for the album, which has been a Guns N’ Roses-esque 13 years in the making.
• 2008 surprise package Frightened Rabbit are to release a live album titled Quietly Now! in the New Year.
The acclaimed Scottish indie rockers will follow up their album The Midnight Organ Fight with the recording made at the Captain’s Rest in Glasgow.
The band will also play fates at The Musician, Leicester, and Glee Club, Birmingham, in March next year.
• West Yorkshire band Random Hand will release an new album, Inhale/Exhale, next February.
The up-and-coming ska-meets-metal band are also playing in Nottingham and Birmingham in the New Year in support of Reel Big Fish.
• Folk’s brightest young star, Benjamin Taylor, releases his new album The Legend Of Kung Folk Part One (The Killing Bite) next April.
The artist, the son of stars James Taylor and Carly Simon, is being tipped for big things with the release.
• Teitur, the most promising musician to come from the Faroe Islands probably ever, is to make his UK debut next year.
The artists will release his debut album The Singer and single Catherine The Waitress early in 2009.
• If all of this is music to your ears, you can read more from the pop world online at www.echoisaacashe.blogspot.com

Fall Out Boy out

• FALL Out Boy’s fourth album, Folie A Deux, marks a maturing of the group’s immensely popular sound.
Taking their distinctive pop punk rock to new levels of symphony and harmony, the polished LP features the hit singles I Don’t Care and America’s Suitehearts as well as their cover of Michael Jackson’s Beat It.
Speaking about the release, frontman Pete Wentz said: “Honestly, we have never been a critically acclaimed band or ‘cool’ band, but we have always moved the needle because of our fans and we don’t want that to change.”
• Urban brand TwiceasNice have compiled their three-CD Urban Club Album Of The Year.
The storming compilation, mixed by Shortee Blitz, Scottie B and DJ Ironik, features hits from Rihanna, Sway, Estelle, Britney Spears, Wiley, Dizzee Rascal, Sean Paul, Usher, Flo Rida, Dr Dre, Brandy and many more.
• Refreshing singer songwriter Jason Mraz’s new album, We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things hits stores on December 29.
The patter of acoustic artist Mraz, that has spawned hits such as I’m Yours and Make It Mine, is also teamed up with Colbie Caillat and James Morrison on the LP.
• The hottest ever cuts from the garage scene have been put together for the bumper The Very Best Of Pure Garage.
Spread over four CDs mixed by Matt “Jam” Lamont the collection of old skool, bass, vocal and nu garage features tracks by artists including Craig David, Dreem Teem, MJ Cole, Shanks And Bigfoot, Azzido Da Bass, CJ Bolland, DJ Zinc, Mr Oizo, and DJ Luck And MC Neat.
• If all of this is music to your ears, you can read more from the pop world online at www.echoisaacashe.blogspot.com - and there’s still time to log on and vote for your favourite Album Of The Year for 2008.

Albums Of The Year 2008

JUST to say that the Upbeat-endorsed Albums Of The Year 2008 vote is now up and running here.
Please click across and vote for your favourite.

Get your Kixx

• POP pickers can thank this column for an early Christmas present this week - as we introduce next year’s big thing, The Kixx.
A four-piece pop rock band already tipped to top the success of McFly and The Jonas Brothers, the Reading-based band have released their debut single this week.
Apology, an infectious pop rock track, is in stores now.
• Experimental classical composer Hauschka has announced a new LP is set to be released.
The Snowflakes And Car Wrecks album, out in February 2009, is a collection of material recorded during the sessions which produced his critically acclaimed Ferndorf album earlier this year.
• Top hip hop label Ninja Tune has announced a series of albums to be released in the coming months.
The label will put out new material from artists including The Qemists, Diplo, the Long Lost and Sway and Amon Tobin’s collaboration Two Fingers in early 2009.
• Swedish pop group Peter, Bjorn And John have announced that their fifth album will be released in 2009.
The as-yet-unnamed release will be preceded by a new track, Lay It Down.
• Out of this world musical project N.A.S.A. will hit stores in February next year.
The hip-hop album will feature input from artists as diverse as Santogold, Kanye West, Kool Keith, Tom Waits, George Clinton, KRS One, David Byrne, Karen O and even ODB.
• Leading lights of British hip hop Dan le Sac and Scroobious Pip have teamed up with American rapper Pos Plug Won of De La Soul for a new single.
The group, who are currently on a tour of British libraries, will release Thou Shalt Always Kill on January 19.
• If all of this is music to your ears, you can read more from the pop world online at www.echoisaacashe.blogspot.com - and this week the website behind this column unveils it’s top 10 Albums of the Year 2008.
Please log on to www.echoisaacashe.blogspot.com from December 17 to see the list, and to vote for your favourite one.

Metallica in dream land

• THE dream return to the charts Metallica had with their number one album Death Magnetic is set to contuinue with the release of their new single All Nightmare Long.
The breakneck track is released on December 15 is eight full minutes of brutal riffs and unforgiving beats typical of the rock gods’ latest material.
The b-sides to the single are two classic Metallica tracks, Wherever I May Roam and Master Of Puppets, recorded live.
• Kanye West’s latest single, Love Lockdown, is in stores now.
The track, taken from his new album 808s And heartbreak, is a storming slice of tribal synth-based hip hop sure to fill any dancefloor.
• Britney Spears has announced that her next single from her latest album, Circus, will be the title track, Circus.
The follow-up to current barnstormer Womanizer is alread flirting with the charts, ahead of its release, on digital downloads from the album tracklisting alone.
• Underrated songwriter Paul Carrack is to release a new single, I Don’t Want Your Love (I Need Your Love), on January 5.
The song is the third to be taken from the prolific colloborator’s latest album, I Know That Name.
• Disgraced comedian Johnathan Ross’s backing band, Four Poofs And Piano, are heading out on tour early next year.
The comedy group, who rose to fame on Ross’s Friday Night programme, will be playing at Loughborough Town Hall on February 28.
• To celebrate moving to a new record label Brighton supergroup the Brakes have released a new track.
Crystal Tunings, which will feature on their 2009 album Touchdown, can be downloaded from http://echoisaacashe.blogspot.com/.
• The Big O, better known as Roy orbison, is releasing a new Best Of box set.
The release will feature all of the guitarists hits, such as Oh Pretty Woman, Only The Lonely, Drove All Night and Runnin’ Scared.
• And if all of this is music to your ears, you can read more from the pop world online at http://echoisaacashe.blogspot.com/.

Set to make a killing

• STADIUM fillers The Killers have released their eagerly-awaited third album Day & Age.
The Las Vegas band’s LP, the follow-up to 2006’s Sam’s Town, features the hit single Human.
You can also catch the band live in the UK next year at dates in Birmingham and Nottingham in February and March.
• Hip hop royalty Kanye West has released his fourth album, the ground-breaking 808s & Heartbreak.
The album, which features the single Love Lockdown, is a change of direction for the rapper, who uses a combination of synth and vocoder on the LP to stunning effect.
• Wish it could be Christmas every day? Then pick up your copy of Christmas Jukebox!
The three-CD compilation features three themes to make every Christmas party go with a bang – a festive section, a rock selection and a further 20 tracks of pop.
• Hot new band Burningpilot are driving into the charts with their debut album.
The new LP, Cold Caller, is an arty slice of post-punk greatness akin to Franz Ferdinand.
• Eighteen-year-old solo star Alessi’s Ark releases her debut EP, The Horse, on December 8.
The release, a sophisticated, crafted preview of an up-and-coming talent, was produced by the team behind Bright Eyes.
• British-born country pop singer Chilli Gold releases her debut album in January.
Waterfalls, which features here current single Out Of My Mind, is available from January 12.
• Described as "the folk-pop Ting Tings", Oh, Atoms are set to release their debut album You Can’t See The Stars From Here next year.
The whimsical indie-folk album, which features the single Sugar Mouse, is due for release on February 2.
• If all this is music to your ears, why not log on to echoisaacashe.blogspot.com for more news, reviews and musings from the music world.

Rather Be in the charts

• RESURGENT Britpoppers The Verve have released a new single, the self-produced Rather Be.
The track, taken from the group’s number one album Forth, is an epic slice of the group’s trademark guitar work.
• In-demand DJ Deadmau5, real name Joel Zimmerman, is set to release a hand-picked selection of unreleased tracks from his first record label.
The ten-track compilation of Canadian label Play Records artists’ old school electro tracks and club classics is titled Deadmau5 At Play, and is released on December 15.
• Talented new UK singer songwriter Andy J Gallagher has released his debut single Something Else.
Available on the Crocodiles And Prostitutes EP, the track is a teaser for his debut album Helicopter Dolphine Submarine which is out next year.
• Hard rockers Shinedown release their debut single, the riproaring Devour, on December 8.
The group, who have risen to prominance supporting Disturbed, plan to attack the charts with their first LP The Sound Of Madness, early next year.
• The Irrepressibles, an invention of singer songwriter Jamie McDermott, release a CD and DVD package of their eclectic sonic art on December 8.
Mixing influences from jazz to samba to baroque, the experimental sound of From The Circus To The Sea is described as "like nothing heard before".
• Hot new artist Chilli Gold is hoping to pepper the charts with her new single, Out Of My Mind.
The track, a piano--driven epic, hits stores on December 8.
• Malian legend Issa Bagayogo releases his latest album, Mali Koura, on December 8.
A fusion of western African and European cultures, the album is one of the most unlikely dancefloor successes of the year.
• Croydon upstarts The Tunics release a new single, the raucous Cost Of Living, on December 8.
The energetic indie rock track, the group’s debut release, is sure to appeal to fans of Arctic Monkeys and The Wombats.
• If all of this is music to your ears, you can read more from the pop world online at http://www.echoisaacashe.blogspot.com/.

Third birthday celebrations for Frank Turner

• HARDCORE hero turned contemporary folk singer Frank Turner is set to release a new album, The First Three Years, spanning his solo career to date.
Starting with his tentative first release The Real Damage and finishing with a cover of ABBA’s Dancing Queen, the former Million Dead frontman’s new work is a must have for fans.
• Atlantan rapper T.I. releases a new album, Paper Trail, on November 24.
The album, which has already hit the number one spot in the US, is followed by a new single, the Rihanna collaboration Live Your Life, on December 8.
• Fans of the band can get a little more Paramore on December 8, when the pop punk rock band release standalone single Decode.
The track is the lead single from the forthcoming soundtrack to the movie Twilight.
• Former Fame Academy contestant Lemar releases a new album, The Reason, on November 24.
The singer’s fourth studio release is a collection of 10 soulful songs from the British R&B singer.
• Singer Estelle has teamed up with dancehall rapper Sean Paul for her new single, Come Over.
Released on November 24, the track is a raggae infused cut from her Mercury Prize nominated album Shine.
• Upwardly mobile Brighton-based band Gloria Cycles release a new single, No Zeros, on December 1.
You can also catch the group live in support of the raucous Cage The Elephant at Rock City in Nottingham on November 17, solo at Eddie’s Rock Club in Birmingham on December 4, and supporting The Rascals at Kasbah in Coventry on December 20.
• Mike Skinner, better known as The Streets, releases a new single from his fourth album Everything Is Borrowed on December 1.
The track, Heaven For The Weather, is an upbeat tongue-in-cheek take on life after death.
• Soul jazz and pop singer Natasha Panas relases her album Yellow Flowers on December 1.
The blooming sumptuous debut LP features her current single Kennington.
• If all of this is music to your ears, you can read more from the pop world online at www.echoisaacashe.blogspot.com.

Soul songs' Seal of approval

• SINGER songwriter Seal’s sensational new album Soul has hit stores.
Soul, an album of covers of classic tracks by the distinctive Seal, features reworkings of tracks such as Ann Peebles’s I Can’t Stand The Rain, Otis Redding’s Knock On Wood and Ben E King’s Stand By Me.
Seal said: "Someone once said ‘the album will sound like the time you had making it’.
"Never before has it been as true as the process of recording this record."
• Enya’s new single, Trains And Winter Rains, is now available to buy.
The track is the first single to be taken from Enya’s seventh studio album, the forthcoming And Winter Came.
• Aiming to prove he’s not just all talk, Sir Michael Parkinson has released a new compilation album, titled My Life in Music.
The two-disc release features artists that have influenced the chat-show king, including Frank Sinatra, Sting and Michael Buble.
• Bluesman Seasick Steve has strut into the charts with a new single.
Walkin’ Man is a bluesy, laid-back track taken from his latest album, I Started Out With Nothing And I Still Got Most Of It Left.
• Superclub Ministry Of Sound releases a second Anthems compilation on November 17.
The latest compilation covers 1991 to the present day over three CDs, and features tracks by Orbital, Snap!, Faithless, Robert Miles, Modjo, Sash!, Underworld, Arand Van Helden, Prodigy, Daft Punk and many more.
• Mixing influences from klezmer to reggae to pop, Esser’s new single Satisfied, stands alone.
The retro-sounding single from the up-and-coming star is available from November 17.
• MOBO nominee Asa releases a new single, No One Knows, on November 24.
The soulful single is a slice of the singer’s world-meets-soul style, captured on her self-titled debut album.
• Kid Rock is set to storm the charts again, following from his number one hit All Summer Long.
The rocker’s next track from the album Rock And Roll Jesus is Roll On, a tender ballad.
• Legendary singer songwriter Neil Young’s seminal 1968 live set at Canturbury House is to be released.
The archive Sugar Mountain Live performance, one of his first as a budding solo star, hits shelves on November 24.
• If all of this is music to your ears, you can read more from the pop world online at http://www.echoisaacashe.blogspot.com/.

Get it, Now!

• HAPPY birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthay dear Now! series, happy birthday to you!
To mark their quarter-century as the most iconic pop compilers on the market, Now That’s What I Call Music! 25 Years has been released.
The release is a three CD compilation of eighties, nineties and noughties music including artists ranging from Amy Winehouse to Phil Collins to Micheal Jackson.
• Houston, we have an album – Belfast rock ‘n’ roller Brian Houston is back with a new long-player, Three Feet From Gold.
Featuring his latest single, Oranges, the album mixes vintage rock and pop influences with classic songwriting.
• Superclub Ministry Of Sound releases it annual collection of dancefloor fillers, appropriately titled The Annual 2009, next week.
The album is a comprehensive round-up of the year’s biggest dance tracks from the likes of Basshunter, Calvin Harris and Mint Royale.
• Paul Carrack, who has worked with artists such as The Eagles, Ace, Squeeze, Mike And The Mechanics, Roger Waters, Elton John and many more, has releases a new solo album.
I Know That Name features his current single I Don’t Want To Hear Any more, which features Don Henly and Timothy B Schmidt of The Eagles.
• Add a little flava to you festive season with the new Massive R&B Winter Collection 2008 compilation.
The two-disc collection features tracks by artists including The Pussycat Dolls, Timbaland, The Game, Rihanna, Neyo, Snoop Doggy Dogg, LL Cool J and many more.
• Heart-throb James Blunt returns with a new single, Love, Love, Love, on November 17.
The stand-alone single is the first new material from James since his best-selling All The Lost Souls album.
• As well as visiting Nottingham’s Rock City on November 15, Death Cab For Cutie release a new single on November 17.
No Sunlight is the latest stunning track to be lifted from their brilliant album Narrow Stairs.
• Glittering star Santogold releases another pop nugget on November 24.
The stomping single, Say Aha, is taken from the eclectic singer’s eponymous LP.
Santogold will also be supporting Kanye West when he comes to Europe this month – including a gig at Birmingham NEC on November 15.
• If all of this is music to your ears, you can read more from the pop world online at www.echoisaacashe.blogspot.com.

Camp rock

• DOING their best with a new single out on November 3 are pop rockers Scouting For Girls.
The new track, I Wish I Was James Bond, is the latest to be lifted from the licensed-to-thrill number one album Scouting For Girls.
A spokesman for the group said: "Whilst Britain undergoes an extensive period of uncertainty both politically and economically, it is the music of Scouting For Girls that can lift the nation’s spirits with their hugely upbeat sunshine pop."
You can see the band on tour throughout November and December including dates at Nottingham Arena and Birmingham’s Carling Academy.
• Rockabilly revivalist Imelda May is hoping to make a lasting impression on the record-buying public with debut album Love Tattoo.
The Irish singer’s debut LP, out now, is a rip-roaring collection of ‘50s-inspired tracks.
• Soulful singing sensation Lemar returns on November 10 with a new single, If She Knew.
The track, the lead single from the Fame Academy graduate’s forthcoming fourth album The Reason, combines Lemar’s heartfelt vocals with layers of acoustic guitar-driven RnB.
• The unique sound of Threatmantics hits the charts on November 3 when their debut offering Upbeat Love lands on shelves.
The Welsh rock and roll trio, who visit Birmingham’s Factory Club on November 20, make their music on viola, guitar, drums and keyboards – with Huw Davies playing both drums and keyboards simultaneously.
A spokesman said: "This is a short, sharp album packed to the brim with skuzzy, mind-blowing rock and roll."
• Operahouse are set to release the dynamic Change In Nature EP on November 10.
The release is a taster for their debut album, recorded under the guidance of Embrace’s Richard McNamara, which is due early next year.
• Jack of all trades John Barrowman is releasing a new single on November 17.
The catchy new single, What About Us, is written by Take That star Gary Barlow and is the first taster of new album Music Music Music.
• Former X-Factor entrant Maria Lawson releases a new single, These Walls, on December 1.
Taken from the singer’s second album, Emotional Rollercoaster, due out in January 2009, the track fuses soul, pop and rock sensibilities.
• Looking for an early Christmas present?
Pop Party 6, a compilation packed with hits from the likes of the Sugababes, Ting Tings, Jonas Brothers, Rihanna, McFly and more is out from November 3.
• If all of this is music to your ears, you can read more from the pop world online at www.echoisaacashe.blogspot.com.

Razorlight return

• THE cutting edge brilliance of Razorlight returns to the charts this month, in the form of new single Wire To Wire.
The track, the first taste of forthcoming third album Slipway Fires, is an affecting ballad with a hook catchier than flu.
You can catch a copy when it hits stores on October 27.
• Metal titans Trivium have released their fourth album, the bone-shattering Shogun.
The album brilliantly showcases the group’s technical mastery and brutal thrash metal sound.
• This’ll cheer you up – New Zealand indie rockers Cut Off Your Hands have released a new EP, Happy As Can Be.
The Bernard Butler-produced four-and-a-hidden-track release is sure to whet the appetite for full-length release You And I, due early 2009.
• Dundee’s finest The View are back with a new single, 5Rebbeccas, released on October 27.
The raucous ripsnorter of a release is being backed up by a 35 date tour including nights at Nottingham’s Bodega and Leicester’s Charlotte.
• Oddball Swedish singer songwriter Lykke Li has a new single from her album Youth Novels out on October 27.
Little Bit is a hushed, breathy hit-in-waiting which could see Lykke following in the footsteps of fellow Scandanavians Robyn and Feist.
• Mercury Prize-nominated folk singer songwriter Laura Marling is hoping to have a good day on October 27, when new single Night Terror is released.
The former Noah And The Whale singer’s will be playing the track, plus others from debut album Alas I Cannot Swim, at gigs at Nottingham’s Rescue Rooms and Birmingham’s Glee Club during November.
• You don’t have to be flush to make a deposit towards the Empty Boat cause.
The international musical collective release an album, Waitless, on October 27, and every copy sold will see money donated to Pump Aid, who provide much-needed sanitation in some of the poorest countries in the world.
• Four-time Grammy winner Tracy Chapman is back with a new single, album and European tour in November.
Album Our Bright Future and single Sing For You are released on November 10, and the singer arrives in the UK on December 12.
• If all of this is music to your ears, you can read more from the pop world online at www.echoisaacashe.blogspot.com.

No more NuNews

THE decision to close NuNews has been taken by Trinity Mirror Midlands as part of its current restructuring process, after no buyer for the paper could be found.
Therefore Upbeat will now be only syndicated across the Coalville Echo, Ashby Trader And Echo, Burton Trader and Trader Xtra newspapers.

Steve rocks the boat

• THE ill skills of bluesman Seasick Steve are showcased on his new album, the fantastic I Started Out With Nothing And I’ve Still Got Most Of It Left.
The guitarist’s major label debut and follow-up to breakthough LP Dog House Music sees the Californian, real name Steve Wold, performing alongside Nick Cave and KT Tunstall.
• Folk singer songwriter Emily Jane White releases her debut album Dark Undercoat on October 20.
The San Franciscan’s first LP. a fragile acoustic collection, is backed up by a European tour during October and November – log on to www.emilyjanewhite.com for more information.
• Diving into the charts with a new single are The Submarines.
You Me And Bourgeoisie is a blend of indie guitar and electronic beats taken from forthcoming album Honeysuckle Weeks.
• Welsh one-man wonder Rod Thomas has released a new single, Same Old Lines.
The lo-fi folk-pop singer’s new song is a ukelele-led anthem of a track.
• Fledgling star Sam Isaac’s new single, Sticker Star And Tape is out now.
The single from the singer, who was asked to play the BBC Electric Proms whilst still unsigned, is the first taster from 2009 album Bears.
• Get Well Soon are in rude health, having announced a series of headline shows inclusing a visit to Nottingham’s Bodega.
The group is the musical vision of Berlin-based Konstantin Gropper, and has been described as "a medieval Radiohead".
• Londoners Me My Head have released their debut single, Damage Is Done.
The track is a powerful, short-lived slice of paranoid, agitated new wave.
• Castle Donington four-piece Late Of The Pier’s new single, the bass-heavy dance smash Bathroom Gurgle, is unleashed on the record-buying public on October 27.
• If all of this is music to your ears, you can read more from the pop world online at www.echoisaacashe.blogspot.com.

U2 live again

• U2’S SEMINAL live album Under A Blood Red Sky has had a digital overhaul to coincide with the re-release of the Live At Red Rocks concert footage.
The Irish group’s remastered album and DVD, originally filmed in Colorado and released back in 1983, are in stores once again.
• Actor, singer and TV personality John Barrowman releases a new album, Music Music Music, next month.
The album is co-written by Take That’s Gary Barlow and Kylie-producer Chris Braide, and features a new single, What About Us, which is out on November 17.
• Encore Une Fois? Why not – The Best Of Sash hits stores on October 20.
The dance legend’s compilation features tracks such as Ecuador, Stay, Adelante and Mysterious Times.
• If you’re a fan of hard rock, be sure to pick up a copy of the new single from Stone Gods.
The band release Don’t Drink The Water on October 27, before heading out on tour across the UK, including a date at Notttingham’s Rock City on November 20.
• Brighton-based band The Rivers have released a new download-only single, Love Or Whatever.
The energetic slice of pop rock is remiscent of The Kooks, and whets the appetite well for the band while they work on a debut LP.
• Still going after 50 years in the music business, Joe Brown releases his new album, More Of The Truth, on October 13.
As well as original music, the album mixes original material with covers such as All Shook Up and Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.
• Former Eurovision entrant James Fox is back with a new album and single in November.
Single Higher and album Rocking Chairs And Lemonade are typical of the South Wales-based singer songwirter’s catchy upbeat pop style.
• Rising stars Cut Off Your Hands release a new single, Happy As Can Be, on October 20.
The track is an exuberant drum-driven slice of charming, uplifting indie taken from forthcoming album You And I.
• Queen and former Free frontman Paul Rodgers have released The Cosmos Rocks, their first album of original material since the death of Freddie Mercury.
The album, dedicated to the legendary Queen frontman, features the latest single C-Lebrity.
• If all of this is music to your ears, you can read more from the pop world online at http://www.echoisaacashe.blogspot.com/.

CSS make Move

• BRAZIL-IANT band CSS release the latest track from their superb album Donkey on October 13.
The infectious Move is a shining example of the South American group's goodtime indie electro pop sound.
CSS, full name Cansei De Ser Sexy, will also be playing a date at Nottingham's Rescue Rooms on the day of the release.
• Musical melting pot Thievery Corporation have released a new album, Radio Retaliation.
The dance duo's fifth LP features collaborations with rappers Sleepy Wonder and Notch, Afrobeat artist Femi Kuti, Brazilian singer Seu Jorge, Indian sitar player Anushka Shankar and American Chuck Brown.
• Rockers Primal Scream have released a new single.
Uptown, which features a reworking by sought-after producer Calvin Harris, is the latest cut to be lifted from the group's latest album, Beautiful Future.
• All hail The Loose Salute, who have a debut single in the form of the dishevelled Why'd We Fight out on October 13.
The emotive country track is a break for the band, who put out a poppy debut LP, Tuned To Love, earlier this year.
• The first of a two part collection of Benin-based band Orchestre Poly-Rhythmo De Cotonou's '70s afro-funk recordings is being released later this month.
The compilation features tracks recorded by the group in secret for small independent African record labels while contracted to larger label Albarika Store.
• Honeysuckle Weeks, the second album by The Submarines, is released on October 20.
The eclectic electro group, who are currently soundtracking the Apple iPhone 3G adverts, will also be playing a handful of UK tour dates throughout the month.
• The Rifles are hoping to shoot up the charts with a new single, Great Escape.
Released on November 3, the track is the first from the rock group's second album, Pavement Diaries.
• Mancunian maelstrom The Vortex release a new single, Dirty Soul, on October 6.
A mixture of indie and electronica influences, the single is a clear nod to Manchester's musical heritage.
• Ashby-de-la-Zouch's finest three-piece The Young Knives have revealed the working title of their third album as Royal Sunlight.
They are currently writing for the LP, the follow up to this year's excellent effort Superabundance.
• If all of this is music to your ears, you can read more from the pop world online at http://www.echoisaacashe.blogspot.com/.

Funeral For A Friend go fourth

• EMO outfit Funeral For A Friend are set to release a new album and single.

The Welsh band’s fourth LP, Memory And Humanity, hits shelves on October 13, with a comeback single, Kicking And Screaming, released a week earlier.

Band member Ryan Richards said: "It’s an album of full of songs that are just begging to be unleashed." And the group will be doing just that on a UK tour including dates in Birmingham Academy and Nottingham’s Rock City.

• The latest album from influential jazz trio Esbjorn Svensson Trio, or e.s.t., is now available.

The album, Leucocyte, the group’s most experimental work, was recorded earlier this year before pianist Esbjorn Svensson died in a diving accident in June.

• Castle Donington band Late Of The Pier are to release a new single from their storming LP Fantasy Black Channel.

Bathroom Gurgle, which was released by the band on 500 limited edition seven-inch records just over a year ago, will get a full release in October.

• Math rockers Foals release a new single, Olympic Airways, on October 6.

The Oxford five-piece are also currently on tour across the country, taking in Rock City in Nottingham and the Carling Academy in Birmingham.

• Scottish instrumentalists Mogwai have released a new album this week.

The Hawk Is Howling, an hour of post-rock magnificence, is the sixth studio effort by the group, who formed back in 1995.

• Rocky horror show Disturbed are back with brutal new single, Indestructible.

The polished metal track, out on October 6, will coincide with the American hard rockers playing dates at Rock City in Nottingham and Birmingham Academy.

• Attack! Attack! unleash an assault on the charts with a debut single and album combo.

Single This Is A Test is released on September 29 by the Cardiff-based rockers, followed by an eponymous LP a week later.

• Bewitching West End star Idina Menzel releases a new album, I Stand, and double A side single Brave/Gorgeous, this month.

The star of Wicked’s studio work is a mixture of melodic pop and emotional ballads.

• Taken from their latest album Velocifero, Ladytron have put out a new single, Runaway.

The dancefloor-filling track’s release coincides with a 13-date tour by the band thoughout November.

• If all of this is music to your ears, you can read more from the pop world online at http://www.echoisaacashe.blogspot.com/.

Metallica's precious metal

• A NEW studio album by the biggest metal band ever? What an attractive proposition.
The long-awaited Death Magnetic has now hit stores worldwide.
The band’s brilliant tenth studio LP, and first for five years since 2003’s St Anger, is a furious, frenzied return to the sort of face-melting metal music that has won them legions of fans across the globe over the last 25 years.
• Stylish singer Ne-Yo’s slick new LP Year Of The Gentleman was released this week.
The album, which contains the Las Vegas native’s chart-topping single Closer, is a collection of polished R&B strongly influenced by the sharp style of the Rat Pack era.
• The Streets is back on the road next month, including trips to Birmingham and Nottingham, as promotion for anticipated new material.
The rapper, real name Mike Skinner, has a new album and single, both titled Everything Is Borrowed, out at the end of September.
But be sure to buy your own copy, and not just borrow them from a friend.
• Asian dance producer Shri has a new album out called Seven Steps on September 22.
The solo album by Shrikanth "Shri" Sriram, best known for his work alongside DJ Badmarsh, mixes traditional Indian instrumentation with funky, bass-driven dance.
• Scouse rockers The Rascals are up to more mischief, in the form of single I’ll Give You Sympathy.
The release, set to hit stores of September 29, is a hard-hitting live favourite taken from their current album Rascalize.
• Quirky Los Angeles-based five-piece Iglu & Hartly follow up their new single In This City with album And Then Boom on September 22.
As well, the group will be toruign the UK throughout September and October, including trips to Birmingham, Nottingham and Leicester.
• Emotive singer/songwriter Daniel Powter, the man behind radio-hogging single Bad Day, has released a new single.
The track, Next Plane Home, is the first to be taken from his second album, Under The Radar.
• Ashby-de-la-Zouch band The Young Knives will be heading to South America next month to carry out an ambassador’s role.
The trio have been selected to represent British musc by the British Music Council, and will be taking their eccentric brand of indie to Beunos Aires, Santiago and Sao Paulo.
• If all of this is music to your ears, you can read more from the pop world online at http://www.echoisaacashe.blogspot.com/

The Stoop to conquer

• THE big news in the pop world is the release of Little Jackie’s album The Stoop.
The album, the debut from the duo of singer-singwriter Imani Coppola and multi-instrumentalist Adam Pallin, is a genre-mashing mix of pop, hip hop and R&B, and features the hit single The World Should Revolve Around Me.
• Florida’s finest Underoath’s sixth studio album has bludgeoned its way into stores this month.
The Christian metalcore band’s album, Lost In The Sound Of Separation, is the group’s heaviest effort yet.
The group will also be playing dates across the UK including Birmingham’s Academy 2 throughout September.
• Comeback kings The Verve have released a new chart-topping album.
Forth, the Wigan band’s first release in over a decade, features current hit single Love Is Noise.
• Musical royalty Queen and Paul Rodgers release a new single C-Lebrity on September 8.
The track, a comment on today’s celebrity-driven culture, is the first track from forthcoming Septmber 15 album The Cosmos Rocks.
The supergroup are also touring in the coming months, including trips to Nottingham Arena, Sheffield Arena and Birmingham NIA.
• Singalong single Same Old Lines is set to be released by Rod Thomas on September 29.
The Welsh singer-songwriter’s live favourite is also sure to feature on the Rod Thomas & It hugs Back tour, which sees the rising star visiting venues including Nottingham’s Lee Rosie’s Tea Shop and Leicester’s The Lounge.
• Despite it’s low-key release, Alex Cornish’s debut album Until The Traffic Stops has had some high-profile champions in the likes of Radio 2’s Dermot O’Leary and BBC 6music’s Tom Robinson.
And the album’s title track is set for a release on September 29. so you can see what all the fuss about the Edinburgh native is for yourself.
• A big noise in indie are up-and-coming Oxford group A Silent Film.
The grandiose quartet are set to release their eagerly-awaited debut The City That Sleeps on October 6.
This is also preceded by anthemic single Thirteen Times The Strength on September 22 and a tour taking in Nottingham and Birmingham.
• Underground rockers The Subways have released a new single, I Won’t Let You Down, taken from the band’s second album All Or Nothing.
The band are also playing October dates across the UK including Keele and Birmingham,
• If all of this is music to your ears, you can read more from the pop world online at Isaac Ashe's Sound Advice.

The Young Knives are cutting edge

• ASHBY’S finest musical export The Young Knives release a new single on September 8.
Dyed In The Wool, an abstract, anthemic slice of drum-driven indie, is the third track to be lifted from their second album Superabundance.
And in a world-first for the rock world, the single will be accompanied by a promo video shot entirely in 3D.
• Rolo Tomassi are finally releasing a debut album after the success of their self-titled debut EP in 2007.
The group’s debut, Hysterics, is "a joyous explosion of melody, noise, anger, youthful exuberance, getting into the groove, not feeling the need to compromise or make music for any other reason than the drive to create something unique, messy and wonderful, a love of science, experimentation and punk/hardcore/what-the-hell-is-that-core".
• Tokyo Police Club – who are Canadian, civilian and not open to new members – have released new single Graves.
The track, taken from debut album Elephant Shell, is another furious, angular indie stormer with more hooks than a Peter Pan convention.
• Soul sensation Estelle releases her sassy new single Pretty Please (Love Me) on September 15.
The track, taken from Mercury Music Prize nominated album Shine, is a collaboration with Gnarls Barkley’s Cee-Lo.
• Tasty power pop outfit The Hot Melts release their debut single (I Wish I Had) Never Been In Love on October 20.
The track is a showcase for the awesome foursome’s sizzling driving energetic sound.
• Sheffield band Little Man Tate are hotting the charts with a quick one-two in the form of single Hey Little Sweetie on September 8 and album Nothing Worth Having Comes Easy on September 15.
The group are also heading out on tour to coincide with the releases, including a visit to Nottingham’s Rescue Rooms and Leicester’s Charlotte.
• Cuban fusion group Madera Limpia release new album La Corona on September 29.
The duo, who hail from Guantanamo, mix modern rap and raggae and dancehall with the traditional Changui music of Cuban.
• Singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Joan As A Policewoman is taking a trip into the charts from September 22, with new single Holiday.
The track, available on download and as a 500-copy limited edition 7" picture disc, is lifted from her acclaimed sophomore album To Survive.
• If all of this is music to your ears, you can read more from the pop world online at Isaac Ashe's Sound Advice.

Go with the Flo

• UP-AND-COMING rapper Flo Rida is to release a fist-pumping new single, titled In The Ayer.
The Will.I.Am collaboration, taken from the album Mail On Sunday, hits stores on September 8.
• Mercury Music Prize nominees Elbow are to release a new single, The Bones Of You, on Spetmebr 29.
The track, which samples George Gershwin’s Summertime, is taken from their latest album The Seldom Seen Kid.
• Max Pashm, who mixes traditional Jewish, Greek and Balkan music with electronic beats, has a new album out next month.
Never Mind The Balkans - Here’s Max Pashm is out on September 29 on Elektrikos Organikos Records.
• Elliptical, insidious, multi-coloured and richly textured art-pop group Metronomy are set to release a new album.
Nights Out, the band’s second LP, hits the shelves on September 8.
• Towers Of London, the band fronted by Celebrity Big Brother contestant Donny Tourette, have announced a new album, new single, a new UK tour and new members.
The group’s return begins on September 29 with the single Naked On The Dancefloor.
• Mercury Music Prize nominee Laura Marling has added new dates to her UK tour.
As part of the Night Terror Tour, promoting her Mercury album Alas I Cannot Swim, Laura will be visiting Nottingham Rescue Rooms on November 4 and Birmingham Glee Club on November 9.
• Moby will release his new single Disco Lies on September 15.
Taken from Moby’s latest album, Last Night, the new single features the vocals of Shayna Steele.
• Welsh rockers the Manic Street Preachers return to the studio next month to record their ninth studio album.
The LP is remoured to be the band’s darkest material since 1994’s classic The Holy Bible.
• Castle Donington band Late Of The Pier have entered the album charts with their debut album, Fantasy Black Channel.
The group’s new album entered the UK top 40 at number 28.
• The Faff, whose lineup includes a Loughborough University architecture student on bass and vocals, have released a new single.
The track, That’s A Nice Glove?, was released on August 25.
• Rose Kemp's brand new album, Unholy Majesty, is out September 1.
Rocker Rose will also be touring the UK during September.
• If all of this is music to your ears, you can read more from the pop world online here.

Sparkling Perry

• PUCKER up – Katy Perry is set to to release her debut album on September 1.
The I Kissed A Girl singer’s may be yet to release her debut LP, One Of The Boys, but she is already a pop A-lister.
In fact, demand was so high for her debut single it had to be released early – so expect a rush for One Of The Boys.
• After 16 years and six studio albums, the formidable back catalogue of The Chemical Brothers has been dusted down and shaken up for new release Brotherhood.
As well as all time classics such as Hey Boy Hey Girl, Out Of Control and Setting Sun, two new tracks –Midnight Madness and Keep My Composure – have been recorded for the release.
• If you’re after exciting new rock music, definately check out The Maybes?.
The Liverpudlian band, who have compared to giants like Oasis and the Arctic Monkeys, release their debut album Promise on September 15.
• Fear not fans of quirky Scandanavian pop, luckily Lykke Li releases a new single Breaking It Up on August 25.
The single precedes a UK tour for the singer, who will be visiting venues including Birmingham’s Glee Club.
• Band on the run – new kid on the block Fugative’s "hip-pop" single It’s Summertime hits stores on September 15.
The 14-year-old heartthrob will also be performing around the UK – at least during the school summer holidays.
• Following the release of their album A Book Like This earlier this year, Australian duo Angus And Julia Stone release new single Just A Boy on August 25.
• This’ll get you in a sweat – Gym Class Heroes have a new single out on September 1.
The track, Cookie Jar, is the first selected from the American alternative hip hoppers’ new album The Quilt, which is also out next month.
• In an interview, US presidential hopefuls Barack Obama and John McCain have revealed their favourite songs.
Obama’s number one was The Fugees' Ready Or Not, and McCain’s all time favourite was ABBA’s Dancing Queen.
• If all of this is music to your ears, you can read more from the pop world at Isaac Ashe's Sound Advice.

A new Manuva

• RAPPER Rodney Smith, better known as Roots Manuva, releases his fourth album, Slime And Reason, next month.
The British MC’s new LP, already being hailed as a career-best, sees Roots exploring his individual, bass-heavy sound.
Summing up his approach to making music, he said: "You got to sing like no one’s listening. You gotta fart like there’s no one there to smell it."
• It’s all systems go for Go:Audio on August 25, when the band release their debut album.
The LP, Made Up Stories, is, according to a spokesman for the band, "bristling with melody and energy, infectious, exhilarating and inventive".
• The "24-carat voice" of jazz singer Christine Tobin, as captured on the album Secret Life Of A Girl, has been awarded the Best Vocalist award at the BBC Jazz Awards 2008.
The album, which was met with critical acclaim on its release last Spring, is a mixture of Tobin compositions and covers of artists including Leonard Cohen and Rufus Wainwright.
• German contemporary composer Hauschka again pushes the boundaries of the piano with his new album Ferndorf.
Out on September 8, Ferndorf, named after the village he grew up in, sees string backing used by the Dusseldorf-based artist alongside his use of a ‘prepared’ piano for melody, percussion and a basis for electronic overdubs.
• Toronto’s Ten Kens are set to release their self-titled debut album on September 15.
Remiscent of Liars, Black Mountain and Amusement Parks On Fire, the 11-track LP is an overdriven tour of the group’s honed bittersweet alt-rock.
• Dishevelled ‘80s-influenced rockers The Mystery Jets release a new EP, Half In Love With Elizabeth, on August 25.
As well as the live favourite title track, the release also includes the London band’s collaboration with Kat Nash, remixes, live versions and two new tracks.
• The legendary Southside Johnny has teamed up with the even more legendary Tom Waits to perorm an album of Tom Waits tracks with La Bamba’s Big Band.
The album, Grapefruit Moon, hit the shelves on September 8.
• Originally commissioned for Derby Jazz Week 2007, jazz guitarist Phil Robson’s Six Strings And A Beat has since been labelled as "world class".
The album, out last month, sees the guitarist teaming up with a string quartet and drummer to explore influences from cool jazz to classic strings to acid rock to Afropop.
• If all of this is music to your ears, log on to Isaac Ashe's Sound Advice for more from the pop world.

Get Get The Blessing

• JAZZ pioneers Get The Blessing have scooped the prestigious Best Album award at the 2008 BBC Jazz Awards.
The album, All Is Yes, by the group, formed by former Portishead members Clive Deamer and Jim Barr, is an exciting, energetic post-jazz mix of riff-based saxophone grooves and rock influences.
• Stump up for Cut Off Your Hands’ debut single, Expectations.
The indie pop single, released on August 18, and produced by former Suede axeman Bernard Butler, is the first to come from the forthcoming album You And I.
• Eighties pop sensation Hue And Cry are to release a new album on September 8, following a 16 year absence from the charts.
As well as the Scottish brother’s usual crafted fare, the album also features a cover of Beyonce’s hit Crazy In Love.
• Alaskan metal band Avenged Sevenfold have released a new song, Dear God.
The track, taken from their self-titled fourth album, sees a dark country twang added to their furious metal oeuvre.
• High flying pop group The B-52s have a new single out on July 21.
Juliet Of The Spirits, taken from their current album Funplex, is backed up by live cuts of favourites Roam and Rock Lobster.
• Mark Ruebery will release a new album, Because Of You, on August 18.
The singer’s debut, which features current single It Goes Around And Comes Around, is a heartfelt mixture of classic anthemic rock and ballad showcasing Mark’s rich vocal tones.
• Silky-voiced singer and musical experimentalist Milosh releases his third album, iii, on August 25.
The Canadian, who has been compared to everyone from Radiohead to D’Angelo, makes music that mashes the boundaries between soul, classical, electronica, jazz and the traditional singer-songwriter.
• X-Factor’s finest Maria Lawson is back with a new single, taken from her second album Emotional Rollercoaster.
Breaking Me Down is a soulful pop track that showcases Maria’s vocal abilities.
• The bittersweet Sugar Mouse is the new single from folk pop duo Oh, Atoms.
The track, out on September 22 but available online from mid-August, also features in the new film Angus Thongs And Perfect Snogging.
• Leftfield guitar pop group Flipron release a double A-side single, Book Of Lies/Mess It Up, on September 15.
Both tracks will also feature on the band’s third album, Gravity Calling, which is out in October.
• If all of this is music to your ears, log on to Isaac Ashe's Sound Advice for more from the pop world.

Bonham's blues is back

• KEEPING in in the family, Led Zeppelin drummer Jon Bonham’s sister Deborah Bonham has released a gutsy album of blues-soaked rock.
Titled Duchess, the 13-track collection is Deborah Bonham’s third offering, and is a real belter to boot, featuring contributions from her cousin, Jon’s son Jason Bonham, Fairport Convention mandolinist Dave Pegg and Free, Bad Company and Queen frontman Paul Rodgers.
• Having been going for four years, the music world is on pins for Phantom Limb’s long-awaited debut single, Don’t Say A Word.
The track, out on August 11, is a superb warm, acoustic track mashing together soul, blues and gospel featuring Yolanda Quarty on vocals, and will be a taster for their forthcoming eponymous album.
• Norwegian rocker Ida Maria’s debut album, Fortress Round My Heart, is released on July 28.
Featuring 10 tracks – half of which are already singles – the album is a perfect showcase of the Scandinavian singer songwriter’s edgy pop talent, and features Oh My God and new single I Like You So Much Better When You’re Naked.
• NME pleaser Joe Lean and his backing band The Jing Jang Jong release their self-titled album on August 4.
With expectation at fever pitch, it’s no surprise that the 13-track LP is a winning collection of infectious chart-troubling indie rock.
• Up-and-coming pop talent Natalia releases a new single, Perfect Day, on September 15.
The single, featuring a Florida-based rapper, coincides with tour dates supporting Girls Aloud, the Sugababes and Kano.
• Eclectic Los Angeles-based five-piece Iglu & Hartly release their debut single and album this September.
Expect big things from the band, who mix hook-laden indie with trademark synth work and distinctive rapping.
• Promising power punk peddlers Go:Audio release their sophomore single on August 11.
The track, taken from forthcoming debut Made Up Stories, is a tasty slice of the band’s melodious rock pie.
• Wahey! It’s Ray J. The American R&B sensation releases his new album, All I Feel, on July 28, which features guest spots from Styles P, The Game and Shorty Mack.
The heart-trobbing teen smoothie also releases a download only single Sexy Can I on the same day.
• If you like your music with a kick, then Cansei de Ser Sexy – better known as CSS – have released a new album of indie disco classics, Donkey.
The album features the Brazilian band’s latest single, Left Behind.

• If all of this is music to your ears, log on to Isaac Ashe's Sound Advice for more from the pop world.

A wail of a time with Primal Scream

• HERE’S something to shout about – Primal Scream are back with a brand new album, Beautiful Future.
The album, which contains the single Can’t Go Back, hits the shelves on July 21, and features collaborations with CSS’s Lovefoxxx, Queens Of The Stone Age’s Josh Homme and folk singer Linda Thompson.
• Don’t let Nine Inch Nail’s new album, The Slip, slip past you.
The physical CD is available in shops from July 28, but you can also download the entire album – which is a real belter – free of charge from their website, www.nineinchnails.com
• James Yorkston’s fourth studio album, When The Haar Rolls In, is released on September 1.
The album is another stunning collectiom of lush, beautifully crafted songwriting from the criminally-underrated Yorkston.
• Iconic singer Chaka Khan is back with her first new album in a decade, Funk This.
The funking brilliant album, out on August 25, is preceeded by the single Disrespectful, a duet with Mary J Blige.
• Wish you were hear? German contemporary classical composer Max Richter has a new album, 24 Postcards In Full Colour.
• Pivot’s new album, O Soundtrack My Heart, is out on August 18.
For more information on the eclectic electro indie band, and to grab a free track, log on to www.pivotpivot.net
• An album of Biblical proportions is set to be released by Noah And The Whale on August 11.
The fin-tastic LP, titled Peaceful, The World Lays Me Down, features the forthcoming single 5 Years Time.
• Drum and bass pioneers Pendulum have a new single out on July 28.
The Other Side is the latest to be taken from the earth-shattering album In Silico.
• Producer Quantic – real name Will Holland – has a new album out.
Flowering Inferno, Death Of The Revolution, is a laid back pairing of hip hop beats and Cuban music.
• Nu-metal’s finest Linkin Park have released their new track, Leave Out All the Rest.
An epic ballad, the track is likely to put the band in the charts on two tracks at once – as the band also feature on Busta Rhymes's We Made It.
• If all of this is music to your ears, log on to Isaac Ashe's Sound Advice for more from the pop world.

Death Cab For Cutie a fare bet

• ALL hail Death Cab For Cutie, whose new single, the brilliant Cath, is out on July 21.
The track is the second to be lifted from the American group’s outstanding sixth album Narrow Stairs, a US number one.
The group are also currently treating UK audiences to a tour taking in Birmingham Academy on July 15.
• Predatory pop band Scouting For Girls are set to bag themselves another hit with their new single It’s Not About You.
The song, an indie pop track catchier than bird flu, will no doubt feature in the group’s current UK tour, which lasts until November.
• Folk experimentalist Jim Moray released a new album Low Culture, on July 14.
The glorious ten-track album is a mixture of traditional English folk music and modern influences, and features collaborations with grime rapper Bubbz, folk legend Roy Bailey and Art brut lead singer Jasper Future.
• Melodic pop rockers Melee are having a brawl with their latest album and UK debut Devils And Angels.
The album, preceeded by single Built To Last, hits stores on July 21.
• Get down with the musical underground that is The Subways new album, the brilliant All Or Nothing.
With Butch Vig, the man who produced Nirvana’s Nevermind, at the helm, the British trio have produced some of their most engaging work to date – incuding singles Alright and Kalifornia.
• Don’t be in the dark – Santogold’s new single Lights Out will be lining the shelves on August 4.
The track, taken from her epeonymous debut, mixes a heavy bassline with a chorus poppier than a bottle of Willy Wonka’s fizzy lifting drink.
• Singing sensation Phil Campbell’s new single No Love Songs has hit the streets.
The single, taken from his hotly-tipped album After The Garden, is the precurser to a tour taking in dates in Birmingham and Derby.
• Brighton based band Gloria Cycles are pedalling towards the big time with a new release, Vegas.
Already a big name in their hometown, the group are gambling on breaking out with the release and a swath of summer tour dates across the UK.
• It must be hard to swallow for the group, but Noah And The Whale aren’t yet a band of Biblical proportions.
However with a few more dreamy good time folk-indie-pop tracks like new single Five Years Time, featuring Laura Marling, it can only be a matter of time.
• If all of this is music to your ears, log on to Isaac Ashe's Sound Advice for more from the pop world.

Best seller Estelle

• CHART-topping soul sensation Estelle has followed up the Kanye West, Will.i.am collaboration American Boy with a new single No Substitute Love.
The single is taken from her debut album Shine, which includes work with Swizz Beats, Will.i.am, Cee Lo, Kanye West and John Legend.
• Legendary indie experimentalists Primal Scream are back with a new sound and a new album, Beautiful Future, featuring work with Lovefoxxx, Josh Homme and Linda Thompson.
You can hear their new sound from July 14 when new single, Can’t Go Back Out, hits the shelves.
• Dreamy singer songwriter James Blunt is again tugging on the heart strings with a new single I Really Want You.
The track is taken from his album All The Lost Souls, and will be among tracks played on tour around the UK this October.
• Fresh from a top three finish in Hell’s Kitchen, Paul Young is again set to bother the charts with a 25th anniversary edition of his number one album No Parlez.
The popstar’s classic album features tracks such as Wherever I Lay My Hat, Iron Out The Rough Spots and Love Will Tear Us Apart.
• The folk and pop fusion of Sidewinder is set to hit the shops in the form of single Shooting Stars.
The song about a rescue dog is taken from Shooting Stars’ forthcoming eponymous debut album.
• Chester-born reggae sensation Ava Leigh is releasing a new single Mad About The Boy this month.
The hotly-tipped single, described as "bottled Summer", is taken from her as-yet untitled debut album, expected later this year.
• Hook-laden rockers Cute Is What We Aim For have released a new single, Practice Makes Perfect, and a new album, Rotation.
The new output is the follow-up to 2006’s critically-acclaimed The Same Old Blood Rush With A New Touch.
• Four-piece avant-pop band Pope Joan are releasing their debut album, Hot Water, Lines And Rickety Machines later this year.
The debut LP from the Brighton-based band mixes angular rock in the vein if The Futureheads with unashamedly poppy sensibilities.
• Stepping out of the shadows of support slots with the likes of Sam Sparro, The Cribs and One Nigt Only, four-piece Sukie are set for the big time with their new single Pink-A-Pade.
The track, already in shops, is a Kinks-esque stomper of a track.
• If all of this is music to your ears, log on to Isaac Ashe's Sound Advice for more from the pop world.

Kid Rock on

• DESPITE bringing a sicknote to Download Festival this year, white trash icon Kid Rock has managed to record a new single.
The ‘American Bad Ass’ will release All Summer Long, a Lynyrd Skynrd homage taken from his album Rock N Roll Jesus, on July 7.
• Ska-influenced sharpshooters The Rifles are aiming at the charts with a new single, I Could Never Lie, out on July 21.
The band, whose jangly indie will appeal to former fans of The Libertines, are also planning to release an as-yet untitled second album in Otcober.
• Grime fighters Hadouken! release new single Crank It Up on July 7.
A frenetic flash of the band’s furious rave-rousing sound, the single is also available on their supurb album Music For An Accelerated Culture.
• Guildford-based band {satellite-state} have offered a taste of things to come with their debut four-track self-titled EP.
You can hear more fromthe band, who play sweeping, melodic MOR indie, at www.myspace.com/satellitestatemusic
• Dancefloor filling indie disco kids Look See Proof have released their debut album Between Here And There.
The album, despite its title, is where it’s at, with their choppy angular sound pioneered by the likes of Bloc Party, The Rakes and The Futureheads.
• In case you missed it, the world’s biggest band Coldplay have a new album out.
Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends – so good they named it twice, eh? – was produced by Brian Eno and Markus Dravs and includes the single Violet Hill.
• The Thirst are set to release a new single, My Everything, from their debut album On The Brink.
The Brixton band’s new release hits the shelves on July 14.
• Former Libertine Carl Barat’s latest vehicle, Dirty Pretty Things, is speeding towards the charts wih a new album.
Romance At Short Notice was released on June 30, and features the current single Tired Of England.
• If all of this is music to your ears, log on to Isaac Ashe's Sound Advice for more from the pop world.

Folky bloke a-okay

• HUNKY folk singer songwriter Seth Lakeman releases his new album, Poor Man’s Heaven, on June 30.
The West Country artist’s third album is another tasty slice of acoustic rock-influenced rhythmic folk.
• Pianist and singer Sara Bareilles’s new album, Little Voice, has hit the UK.
The album, which features the breakthrough single Love Song, has already proved a big hit in the US with its radio-friendly sound.
• New Yorker Jesse McCartney is destined to be a big Jesse, after releasing his album of R’n’B slicker than a greased hog.
Described as a blend of Michael Jackson and Timbaland, the album, Departure, features the single Leavin’.
• Bag yourself a bottle of Blue Nun and turn up the fondue – 70’s Dinner Party is released on July 7.
A three CD nostalgia trip, the compilation features artists Demis Roussos, David Soul, 10cc, Art Garfunkel, Telly Savalas, Barry Manilow, Minnie Riperton and many more.
• BWO – Bodies Without Organs – release a new single, Lay Your Love On Me, on July 28.
The pop dance legends new single is a precurser to their latest album, singles collection Pandemonium, which is released on August 11.
• Swedish band Napoleon are ready to invade the UK’s shores with a raucous new single Send Me A Woman.
The sound of the band is a big as the band itself – made up of 10 members.
• Soapstar superstar Richard Fleeshman has a new single out, Back Here, on July 14.
The singer, a former Coronation Street actor, is also touring theUK during June and July – check out his myspace page for more information.
• Hip indie band Black Kids’ new single, Hurricane Jane, is released on June 23.
You can hear the song, which propelled the band onto the critics’ radars this year, at a series of UK tour dates up until August. For more details check out their myspace.
• There will be no mistaking The Corrections following the release of their debut album Repeat After Me on July 7.
The band, who have been compared to Radiohead and Arcade Fire, are back after previously hitting the shelves under the guise of The Fallout Trust.
• Former Afro Celt Sound System meber, Guinean kora and balafon player and singer N’Faly KouyatÈ releases an album with his backing band Dunyakan on August 4.
The LP, titled Tunya, tells stories frrom his West African homeland in traditional African music mixed with electronica, rock, classical and pop.
• Kaki King, the only female guitarist to ever be named a Guitar God by Rolling Stone magazine, is back with a dazzling new album Dreaming Of Revenge.
The guitarist and singer, whose virtuoso playing is world-renowned, has mixed her unearthly skills on a six-string with electronica and looping techniques to create an acheingly beautful effort.
• Cheeky Liverpudlians The Rascals have finally released their debut album Rascalize.
The indie boys’ album, a raw, energetic effort, will be lapped up by fans of The Coral and Arctic Monkeys.
• Canadian superstar Alanis Morissette has released her first studio album after a four-year absence.
Flavours Of Engagement blends her distictive pop rock sound with Eastern percussion, strings and electronica.
• Icelandic post-rockers Sigur Ros have released a new album, Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endelaust.
The catchily-titled album sees the band’s spacey sound stripped down – as does the artwork.
• Whoooo! The Black Ghosts, made up of former knob-twiddlers in Simian and The Wiseguys, release their eponymous debut album on July 7.
The electro, dubstep album, destined for the dancefloor, features the Damon Albarn collaboration Repetition Kills You.

• If all of this is music to your ears, log on to Isaac Ashe's Sound Advice for more from the pop world.