(Fur CD Single) Out Now In the great scheme of things Reservoir Cats are just another pub blues band, but really, they've always been a good step or two further up the ladder than the 'good time' barflies who trawl through the same 'timeless classics' of a Sunday afternoon. Maybe it's the way singer Tony Jezzard growls like a forty-a-day hound with a dose of Mississippi flu and isn't afraid to grind his guitar in the face of pub-goers' apathy. Here the Dogs cover the old Screaming Jay Hawkins classic 'I Put A Spell On You' in languorous but full-blooded style, capturing the essence of cheap whisky and cigarette smoke. Elsewhere, 'Suzie Q' is a chopped-out rock-a-boogie, 'I'm Ready' is old fashioned rock'n'roll while the 'secret' track at the end is an anonymous blues jam that sounds suspiciously like 'Footloose'. For about ten seconds. A neat selection of covers then: nothing new or particularly exciting and probably intended more as a souvenir of a particularly heavy drinking session than any kind of great leap forward for British blues. Ian Chesterton

FLUME "...The Hell Are You" (Floom CD Single) Out Now Everywhere you look bands are going back to roots. From Beck to Gomez the blues is back, so where else to start for Flume, featuring former Earth Machine vocalist Bob Lawrence and bassist Paul Oliver? 'Some Time' starts out life as Reef but quickly descends/ascends (delete according to personal taste) into typical blues-tinged boogie, lighter in touch and far poppier than the mighty Earth Machine. Chunky without being bruising, it nestles comfortably alongside the current crop of retro-rockers without causing too much fuss. During the course of second track, 'On My Own' approximately twenty three people popped their head round the door to comment that it sounded exactly like Steppenwolf's 'Born To Be Wild'. They needn't have bothered; I'd already scribbled the name neatly in large capital letters at the top of my notebook. Sometimes I'm so quick off the mark I surprise myself. John Leeson LOCAL RELEASE NEWS... RADIOHEAD - The follow-up to the all-conquering 'OK Computer' isn't expected until the latter part of the year although there may well be a live album in the meantime. Thom, meanwhile, contributes to a hip hop album by Handsome Boy Modelling School, alongside Mike D and DJ Shadow. SUPERGRASS - Their third album is already recorded and is set for a Summer release - as yet, untitled. NOUGHT - Their long-overdue debut for Shifty Disco is finally recorded and is currently being remixed, and should see the light of day in late April. THE CANDYSKINS - The UK release of 'Death of a Minor TV Celebrity' is still on hold as the band concentrate on their Stateside career. The single 'Somewhere Under London', withdrawn last year, is available by mail order from the band's website. ANIMALHOUSE - The band are still unsure of the name they'll be playing under due to legal problems with an American film company. Sam Williams says he hopes their debut EP will be out by the end of March at the latest. MARINE RESEARCH - Have just recorded a batch of new songs which will be included on a single for the American K label as well as a cover of a Built To Spill track for a joint single with that band. UNBELIEVABLE TRUTH - A French tour this month is followed by a couple of month spent in a studio in the middle of nowhere, the first fruits of which will be a single in June with a new album to follow in late Summer.

DAN EISENHANDLER "Tales Of The Milkround" (Monkey Dog CD) Out Now And so the great 'are they/aren't they mad?' debate continues with the return to action for the former Oh! Susannah Joanna nutcase Dan Eisenhandler, a man who takes music to places nobody with any sense has taken it before. 'Tales Of The Milkround' stands proud as possibly the worst album ever committed to CD, which sort of makes it a work of genius but is in all likelihood a joke at the expense of Ocean Colour Scene fans everywhere. Good. Thus informed, we trudge through 'kooky' 70s funk on 'Captain Space Omelette' replete with silly vocoder-affected vocals and, help me mummy I'm scared, guitars that sound like they're from outer space, before drifting through the queasy bossanova of 'Voice of a Bassoon', finally reaching 'An Unrequited Love' by which time Dan has degenerated into The Pub Singer doing Bryan Ferry. The problem is, none of this is very interesting. Wacky lunatics come ten a penny round these parts where the close proximity of so many small isolated villages leads to interbreeding on a dangerous level. And just when you think it's all over there's the inevitable secret track. 'The Moon is fat and I'm on my rounds tonight' gurns the milkman from hell. Be afraid. John Leeson Local release news cont.. THE BIGGER THE GOD - Spent last year writing material for a second album and are due in the studio this month. The new album should be out in the Autumn. The band's management describe the new songs as 'The Bigger the God discovering their tangent and really going off on it.' Whatever that means. MEDAL - Their first album for Polydor, `Drop Your Weapon' is finished and due for a Spring release, with a single to precede it. LAB 4 - The hardcore dancemeisters were frustrated when their record company collapsed on the eve of their debut album release. A new label should see the finished product out in the shops in the near future. HURRICANE #1 - There's a new single due in March with an album to follow immediately, with a full-scale tour to coincide. DUSTBALL - The band currently demoing new songs with the intention of releasing an album in the Autumn. ATL - You're avin' a larff intcha?