SHUFFLE:Eoin Butler's guide to singles, downloads and free audiostreams
OASIS
Falling Down Big Brother**
Has there ever been a successful rock band with as limited a musical palette as Oasis? This latest single from their Dig Out Your Soulalbum is not to be confused with the 1993 Joel Schumacher film of the same name. Quite frankly though, if a tightly wound Michael Douglas had shown up midway through and started taking potshots at the band, it might actually have done the track a world of good.
THECOCKNBULLKID
I'm Not Sorry Moshi Moshi****
"I might be wrong, but I'm not sorry/I'll do it again and again." Just what the world needs, you think: another unrepentant egomaniac. But on the follow-up to her excellent debut single, On My Own, this 23-year-old Londoner will win you over in the end.
THESOFTPACK
Bright Side Kemado Records***
This much-hyped San Diego quartet, formerly (and unfortunately) known as The Muslims, are the umpteenth pretenders to The Strokes alt.rock crown to come along since Is This Itappeared in 2001. Like most of those bands, The Soft Pack aren't hugely innovative, but Bright Sidefeatures some lovely Ramones- esque punk harmonising. www. myspace.com/thesoftpack
JAMES YUILLE
No Surprise Moshi Moshi**
He’s decked out in horn-rimmed glasses, a cardigans and sensible haircut. Hunched over a laptop, he accompanies himself via a video projector on acoustic . . . Yes, it’s safe to surmise that English “folktronica” artist James Yuille isn’t exactly working overtime to dispel any geek accusations. Yet for all Yuille’s effort to present himself as an alternative proposition, this is remarkably bland music.
ALEX ROOTS
Fake Good Groove***
She may look like just the latest off a production line of stylised 1980s wannabes, but 16-year-old Alex Roots has a certain manic energy (think Cyndi Lauper meets The Darkness) that’s all her own. www.myspace.com/alexroots music
BIPOLAR EMPIRE
Tempomanic ***
This Tallaght trio, who made their name playing live in Captain America, are now holed up in LA recording sessions under the direction of former REM producer Pat McCarthy. www.myspace. com/bipolarempire