"An ectoplasmic smudge of a song sticky with McCartneyesque keen and channelling psyche-pop attitude" - NME-speke for 'not bad at all,' their verdict on Guided by Voices' new UK single Everywhere With Helicopter. Of course, you'll already know this if you've snagged the 2cd Ten Years of NoisePop compilation from earlier this year (also feat. Neko Case, Spoon, Beulah, Oranger, Track Star, etc)...

One of reallyrather's fave finds of '01 still being discovered: "An enjoyable blast of catchy Beach Boys by-way-of Weezer pop' says Sponic of Librarian types from Swedish band Holiday With Maggie. An ideal snack for the Fountains of Wayne-starved, adds reallyrather...

The small room upstairs at The Enterprise in Camden was filled to overflowing Thurs for a set from Seattle singer-songwriter Rosie Thomas. Though short (about 8 numbers) it was still comfortably worth twice the £3 admission. A slightly schizophrenic performer, Thomas alternates between the squeaky scattiness of her banter and the touching, occassionally sublime songcraft of her music. Easily reproducing the mellow folk-pop vibe of her Subpop debut, her impressively economical songwriting and beautifully controlled vocal needed no aid, tho' she was occasionally accompanied on electric piano by "brother Brian". (At times this brought one or two of the numbers dangerously close to Dawson's Creek soundtrack territory, Wedding day in particular a gift to that show's producers.) Highlights for reallyrather were two new songs, possibly called Carousel and I've been waiting, suggesting that the best is yet to come. A hasty appearance at the end by her stand-up alter-ego Sheila, a pizza waitress in a neck brace, shattered the mood somewhat but it was pretty funny...

"A gorgeous record...rural post rock and alternative country...a perfect blend between Califone and Sparklehorse." Maybe giving a whole new spin to the term 'spaghetti western', interesting Italian label Homesleep gushes persuasively about a vaguely improbable debut release by a band from Varese called Midwest. Can it be? Well, the single soundclip provided is similarly tantalising. Happily, we need look no further than Leeds to grab a copy of Town and country, £9.49 from ace indie retailer Norman Records...

Tribute Album Advance Warning! Same label Homesleep is presently busy calling in contributions from the likes of Howe Gelb, Spearmint and Oranger for Everything Is Ending Here - a Tribute To Pavement due late in the year. Ace cosmic-popsters The Tyde have dug deep, interrupting their doubtless hectic schedule to bring in a version of Perfect depth...

Home to many a reallyrather-friendly band, graze the Austin music+arts scene in the company of RiverCityNews, a nascent blog from the heart of Texas...

Something for the weekend:
Life at Sea / sink (mp3 | site)
-tasty indie rock from Chicago 3-piece
Gingersol / sticks & stones (mp3 | site)
-way too good to be left unreleased, surely?
Matt Cheplic / Don't let me lose my mind (mp3 via neohippy)
-rather sappy album yields mellow radio pop nugget