“Elephant” is a mixed bag of an album - some of it showing little in the way of progression from The White Stripes’ previous albums, while other tracks stand out as arguably the best songs Jack White has ever written. “Seven Nation Army” is one of the latter: the inter-verse riffs beautifully complement the thudding guitar, which could almost be mistaken for a bassline, during it, while Meg’s drumming provides an amazing under-stated beat without. If you didn’t agree with Mr White before hearing “Seven Nation Army” that “less is more”, then you certainly should afterwards! The b-sides provide a Stripes re-working of two songs - good friend Brendan Benson’s “Good To Me”, and the traditional folk song “Black Jack Davey”. What sets the White Stripes apart from other bands with their cover versions is that they make each song totally their own, so that it is not recognisably different from their own back catalogue. Love or hate their cover versions (and personally, I go with the former), you have to respect them.

One thing no one can fault Therapy? for is their longevity as a band, this being the first single from their soon-to-be-released ninth album (not including compilations). Throughout the years the band have also experimented with such non-traditional metal elements as cellos and remixes. This single, however, shows the band doing two of the things they do best - catchy pop-tinged metal with aggressive lyrics (in a “Lonely, Cryin’ Only vein) on “If It Kills Me” and pure fury with a thumping drum-beat which harks back to their pre-Troublegum days on “Rust”. Neither (or the third track, “Mama, You Can Call The Ambulance Now”, a previously unreleased song which sounds as if it was taken from the “Shameless” era) are likely to win the band any new fans, but both will certainly keep the hardcore (of which there are still a considerable number) happy.

Anyone who has been present at a Razorlight gig has long anticipated this demo, which quickly received London airplay. It is a three song taste that easily captures the charm and emotion of their live shows, and was so successfully recorded at Toe Rag studios it may become a first single. The band evoke comparisons with the original punk poets of the New York ‘70’s scene, not for the obvious reasons of dress code and behaviour, but because people like Tom Verlaine, Patti Smith and Richard Hell were influenced by writers like Rimbaud, Baudelaire and Bukowski, who is name-checked in “In the City”. Although the music is also quite similar, perhaps simpler here, which better showcases the lyrics.

“Rip It Up” is the first song on the demo, and is more straightforward than some of their other songs. With its simple ringing riff, it is the sort of song that should rescue pop music to its former glory days when The Kinks were regular features in the charts. Employing quirky phrases like ‘Pick a stitch’ is another reminder of bands like The Kinks and others similar today like old mates The Libertines.

The second track here, “Rock’n’Roll Lies”, seems to relate the authentic tales of the difficulty of love within London’s own music scene with all its enthralling characters and idiosyncrasies, while the lyrics continue to herald the current return of literacy in music.

It must be said that “In the City” bears an extreme resemblance to Patti Smith’s version of “Gloria”, but with the line ‘I was looking for you’ which features in her “Redondo Beach”. This song is usually the grand finale of Razorlight’s sets, understandably as it builds in momentum and tension until it reaches a frantic call and echo of “And it’s all right”, but not without a searing guitar solo first.

These are three perfectly rendered pop-mod-punk songs that brilliantly demonstrate Johnny’s soulful voice, and the tight and burning unit that he, Carl (bass), Bjorn (guitar) and Christian (drums) have become. Having supported bands from McAlmont & Butler to the Von Bondies, winning over crowds effortlessly with their songs and charisma, Razorlight are a band to watch closely as it can only be a matter of time before they move from triumph to triumph.

At last, Razorlight release a single that really does justice to the countless live sets they have played around London in the past six months, both headline and supporting seemingly every band which passes through the capital. “Rip It Up” showcases an energy and exhilaration that “Rock ‘n’ Roll Lies” couldn’t quite convey, while b-side “Spirit” is worthy of being a caustic single in its own right. With a further three b-sides spread over two CDs and a 7 inch, Razorlight are treating us well, and any serious music fan would be well-advised to invest in all three formats, to see London’s favourites in every one of their guises, from the pure Clash punk of “Here It Comes” to the Babyshambles-esque “Heartbreak Soup”. November sees Razorlight return to the studio to complete their debut album. Expect good things…

So here we have four tracks from the bands currently embarking on the New World Disorder Tour. My Red Cell offer up “Head In The Ground”, showcasing an REM-style backing whihc segues into more typical rock in the chorus, made rather more interesting by a strange, shaky vocal, which works much better here than it does live. “Face I Know” see the Future Kings of Spain at their most typically scream-y. Think Faith No More’s “Digging The Grave” only without the tune which made the other listenable. Hang On The Box’s “Heroin And Cocaine”, meanwhile, is one of the strangest things I’ve heard all year, with what sounds like an eight year old girl squealing over an oddly memorable tune. What’s even stranger is that it’s actually rather appealing! Undeniably the best song on the EP, however, is Ludes’ “She Was Just A Girl”, a slice of ska-tainted Coral with all the energy and excitement of their live performance.

With this, their debut single, it’s good to hear what Performance should sound like, pre-recorded and on a nice shiny CD. There are definite shades of The Pet Shop Boys and even Erasure, but the obvious similarity has to be drawn with The Human League. Not only are we faced with a girl/boy combo with possibly the worst haircuts since Phil Oakey, but also with the ever familiar bubblegum synth-pop with thinly veiled sinister undertones. Yet the question remains: How can a man with English as his first language sound so stereotypically camp-European, and why do the lyrics read like they may’ve been translated from French, via Japanese, before settling on boring old English? But hey, it’ll be Summer before you know it. Lie back, have a schnapps, and listen to the bastard love child of Pete Burns and a mad Swedish trainspotter.

I don’t know why but I find it quite endearing that the younger or newer generation of bands are influenced by the likes of The Jam and The Undertones. Even down to their stripy black & white jumpers, The Ordinary Boys – bit of a naff name there – do a fairly good job of being late 70’s mod in this day & age. ‘Maybe Someday’ is a good song, and singer Preston has a nice voice not dissimilar to Martin from Gene (remember them?). Although they do only seem to be about 12, I still find it quite sweet. This novelty may wear off though - who knows if they will stand the test of time like those bands who I’m guessing are their heroes. But they seem enthusiastic and have certainly got off on the right foot. Let’s just hope they don’t end up churning out the same old twaddle in years to come, become loud-mouthed media whores and start calling their children things like ‘Weller’ or worse, ‘Feargal’!

Anyone who bought Junior Senior’s debut album ‘D-D-Don’t stop the beat’ after being captivated with hit single ‘Move Your Feet’ will admit that they were a bit shocked upon the first listen. The rest of the album tracks don’t seem to have that timeless classic quality of their first single, which suggests the exclamation; “one hit wonders!” But this doesn’t last for long as you realise the album has some fantastic tracks on it, and that Junior Senior are a great little band who write super fun pop tracks mixed with a bit of dance & rock & roll. One of the standout tracks is ‘Shake Your Coconuts’ which comes very close to the quality of their debut single. You’ll never get bored of dancing along to it in front of your bedroom mirror (or maybe that’s just me!) and if you like to get out a bit, in the indie clubs. It has fantastically catchy guitars and background harmonies, and is definitely the ‘Club Tropicana’ of 2004!

Placebo, do people still like them? You have your eyeliner-clad hard-core fans who look like they haven’t eaten for 2 months and wear ripped clothing and paint their nails black, and on the other end you have the Brian Molko haters who despise the band and everything they do. I sit just below the former, think they’re enjoyable live and their earliest stuff was best but isn’t that the case with most bands? “English Summer Rain” is the fourth single off fourth Album “Sleeping With Ghosts” and to be honest the novelty has worn off a bit now. The track does have an exciting 80’s Human League feel to it at first, but it doesn’t progress much from there and lacks the ‘oomph’ of some of their previous hit singles. The rock guitar solo is particularly cheesy and it’s annoying how the whole song is made up of repeated lines. I wonder whether this it to make the song more rhythmic or if Molko’s just getting lazy…

Although this is apparently the fourth song taken from Elbow’s second album “Cast Of Thousands” this is the first time I’ve heard a single song of theirs since they started in 1998, when British music seemed to be in limbo. Elbow are like the shy eccentric child who sits at the back of the class and quietly gets on with their work, it’s quite hard to notice they’re even there amongst the rest of their loud, naughty but quite exciting rivals. The term ‘nice’ is not necessarily a compliment, as people tend to use it as a broad term between fantastic and awful, but that is the case here I’m afraid. Singer Guy Garvey certain has a lovely, hypnotic voice, but with the sing-a-long chorus and organ in the bridge, you feel like you’re in church watching the boys choir try out something less traditional.