This week, Matt likes his organs.

Ed Harcourt – All Of Your Days Will Be Blessed (Heavenly)
This is the first track to be lifted from Ed’s forthcoming follow-up to the Mercury-nominated Here Be Monsters. It’s foot-stomping classic songwriting in the Neil Finn vein, with off-kilter, discordant fairground organs underpinning Ed’s strong grasp of melody. According to Ed, “it’s sort of saying when you’re really in love with someone, everyone else is a moron.” Well, obviously.

The Datsuns – Harmonic Generator (V2)
A Harmonic Generator is a guitar effects pedal which proves the slightly odd inspiration for this foot-on-monitor rocktastic ditty. Less Deep Purple than much of their other stuff, it’s still drainpipe-trouser wearing, spliff-smoking, groupie-shagging rock’n’roll. And it’ll make you wiggle yer arse like it’s 1975.

The Bandits – The Warning (Centro Del Blanco)
Contemporaries of The Coral, The Bandits come from the same dirty swamp of influences. Swirling psychedelic Hammonds rub up against retro riffs and your classic gravelly British blues vocals. God knows what’s in the Mersey that makes bands from Liverpool sound like this, but let’s hope they keep pumping it in because it’s bloody good. The band also run The Bandwagon club night at the Zanzibar in Liverpool, which has showcased local acts like The Zutons, The Hokum Clones and The Jackals.

Schneider TM – Reality Check (City Slang)
“I try not to plan before I start to make music,” says Schneider TM. “It’s like cooking, I love inventing new dishes.” If the second single from Dirk Dresselhaus’ excellent Zoomer album was a dish, it would be a rustic stew served in a space-age dish. Folky acoustic guitar clashes with corrupt electronic vocals over a spattered broken beat. Warm and fuzzy sounding, like a buggered electric fire which you can’t turn down.

LDP – Everybody In The Morning (Gronland Records)
Lockdown Project’s obnoxiously catchy Everybody In The Morning la la, is teetering on the edge of credibility. It fuses hip-hop beats and raps with Latin guitars and an infectious pop spirit, but it gets on your nerves, well my nerves anyway. Very quickly. But, by the same token, you can’t help but sing along. Matt Walton 30 January 03