A bag of rotten walnuts, a leathery satsuma and a pile of demos. Christmas as usual at Nightshift Towers.

GDSTK Oppressor rm wav Our only previous encounter with this Bicester-based American duo was at their spectacularly inept debut gig at the Bully a couple of months back. Somewhat akin to listening to your mum hoovering while dad banged a couple of nails into the wall. This tape is rather more interesting but goes some way to displaying the major pitfalls of industrial rock. 'Oppressor' is suitably unpleasant, its squelchy beats and doomy synthetics coming across like a latterday Skinny Puppy with ogreish vocals to suit. Thereon in, GDSTK revert to dirge mode - or is that Depeche Mode? - grumbling and griding through gothic new romantic noodling that is neither particularly tuneful or scary, the band seemingly intent on trying out every sound setting on their synthesizer while hoping nobody notices that the guitarist is playing Van Halen riffs. Unrelentingly morbid; a couple of jokes, or the odd Whigfield sample wouldn't have gone amiss. ESCA This month's obligatory one-bloke-in-his-bedroom-with-only-a- computer-for-company tape. Mr Esca offers a disclaimer that his music is written entirely for his own pleasure, which is good since it's hard to see anyone beyond those poor souls who manage to listen to the whole of the John Peel show, even the nameless Japanese white label only stuff, getting off on it. It's not that it's especially bad, it's just we've heard it all before - chunky drum patterns, sci-fi synth bleeps and some grumbling bass sounds all fused into a series of elongated journeys into sound. You get to thinking that Mr Esca probably set his sequencer on course for a far away galaxy, wandered off to make a cup of tea and returned five minutes later to switch everything off. Still, he's happy and we're not going to spoil his fun. EMPTY VESSELS Empty vessels make the most noise, but that doesn't mean they've got anything to say. And so it is with this bunch who provide an odd amalgam of lo-fi electronica and 60s surf pop on first track, 'Survivoresque'. Cheap, shoddy Casio bloops and an overwrought but sickly vocal that all adds up to some anonymous 3rd Division 80s pop (Hello Peter Godwin), and is utterly devoid of purpose. Later on they sing 'Who wants to listen to a bunch of boys?' which maybe at least displays an awareness of their own failings but could equally be a stab at irony. Guitars get strummed frantically, pots and pans get hit and someone plays the bass out of time. And it all goes on forever. Any amusement to be had is quickly swallowed up by a raging desire to inflict pain on the perpetrators. RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT Ah, that timeless paradox - the singer-songwriter who can neither sing nor write songs. Bred in secret government laboratories where they are raised without any exposure to music beyond cheap recordings of retarded buskers in the Covered Market. And then they unleash these people upon the world with a parting reassurance that they are the chosen ones. Which is an unkind way of saying that Robert Davies sounds like an untidy mess of Morrissey playing skiffle with a side order of Belle & Sebastian's bowel movements and appears to be in desperate need of winding up, like an old clockwork toy that's been chewed by the dog. In a desperate final bid to win us over and sound a bit hard he then reverts to shouting while someone batters a shopping trolley to death in the background. Better not mess with him then.

PORN SHOW Soul Orunle rm wav Ah, a bit of life at last. The tacky glam-punk name belies some serious psychedelic rocking that features a brash 3-chord charge through old Led Zep riffs and some spaced-out vocals. They've got a flange pedal and they're bloody well gonna use it. Bits of Spacemen 3 and Hawkwind surface sporadically but overall Porn Show seem more aligned with 70s acid rock. They're probably hippies but we'll not hold that against them as they carve out grungey skywards anthems. It might be nice if the songs weren't all about two days long though. BANG OUT OF ORDER Comes with a delightful photo of lead singer Carol-Anne but none of the other band members which makes you worry for their aesthetic appeal. But that's the least of the mysteries here. Like why they even bother getting out of bed in the morning if this turgid excuse for blues rock is all they're capable of - ubiquitous fretwankery, anaemic bass playing and generic female vocals that would love to be sultry, soulful and smoky but are merely shrill. Strangely, halfway through the first song everything goes quiet. That's it, no more. Something has gone wrong. Maybe it was a joke. Maybe there really is a God. Whatever, we're mightily disappointed not to get to hear their cover of 'Born To Be Wild'. PALM GLASS Recorded in Japan by some fellow who's trawled the globe in search of the lost chord and chanced upon a 'new' form of music. Techno played on a guitar. Obviously word of Full Frontal Assault didn't reach as far as Fiji. Apparently 'it's a new field, distinct from other guitar styles'. He speaks of 'sound textures and the power of the drum beat, rather than speed riffs and chord progressions'. Unsurprisingly, then, it's mostly a load of old noodling that goes on forever: one elongated solo after another with some effects pedals thrown in for good measure. And it sounds a bit like Mike Oldfield. Which is entirely the opposite of a new field. THE PRAIRIE CLAMS Ooh Las Vegas rm wav Local music veteran Johnny Connell-Hinkes returns once more, this time with a band named after a slang term for sheep's testicles. To which we say snork! and, if you will, arf! But, while it's hardly the dog's bollocks, it's a fair stab at deep south country and western, complete with pedal steel and guitars that sound like banjos, although Dave Lamb's American drawl sounds somewhat forced and, for all its attempts at authenticity, the whole tape really does sound like a bunch of good ol' Oxford boys messing around and never meaning no harm.

All demos for review should be sent to: TRACKED DOWN, NIGHTSHIFT, PO BOX 238, HEADINGTON, OXFORD, OX3 8YU. Deadline for inclusion is the 15th of each month. No review without a phone number and address.No more than four tracks on a tape.No complaining or idle threats that you can't back up with an army and a couple of top lawyers. Extracts from some demos may be included on this website. Please state if you do not wish your music to be used.