Social Dancing by Bis

Trends change, fashions leap around, forever leaving millions of reviewers and bloggers to catch them. Sometimes, however, it isn't up to us to catch these trends, but to catch up with them. In the case of Bis, a band whose magpie musical styles made them impossible to categorise outside of 'pop' (a whole universe in…

Alisha Rules The World by Alisha’s Attic

I really want to wash those dishes up. 1996 was a vintage year for my CD rack. Keith Flint stood in a tunnel, monochromatic yet brighter and more colourful than anything else around. Britpop approached a zenith, Jarvis Cocker's arse made The Brits relevant, Alanis made us reach for a dictionary to check the actual…

Ping Pong Bitches by Ping Ping Bitches

The Sunday Mail seemed to live at the side of the couch until the next edition appeared. At this point in my life, when I was heading to college, the Sunday newspapers felt like a mandatory part of working class life. Everyone read the News of the World and (here in Scotland) the Sunday Mail.…

Boomania by Betty Boo

Every kid deserves their own pop star, that one superstar they can adore from a distance. As a child, I wasn't short of icons to admire. There was The Doctor and Ace, who saved the universe from evil monsters each week on BBC1. Agent Dale Cooper was there for me even though he preferred coffee…

Kylie In The ’90s

There are two types of Kylie Minogue song. The type that work and the type that don’t. Being talented as she is, Kylie definitely has more in the former category rather than the latter. Really, an argument could be made that Kylie is the greatest indie popstar ever to work an independent label. Stock Aitken…

Bright Like Neon Love by Cut Copy

The second best album of 2004 was also the least likely to succeed. It's essentially a lo-fi electronic pop record that sounds like it came from a geek's bedroom. It's simple, effective, but most of all...affecting. Songs of aching hearts and thwarted love sit snugly alongside each other. This is a Cut Copy that isn't…