SINGLES

CUBE: Scrounger (Virgin) - What a charming title. Leeds-based noiseniks Cube are teetering on the brink of something very big - so prepare to take cover. This one sounds like the Jesus and Mary Chain doing a gig in Hell. (9/10) JS

ALBUMS

TELEVISION PERSONALITIES: Part Time Punks (Cherry Red) - The godfathers of all those early Postcard groups and the kick-start Alan McGee needed to set up Creation Records, Dan Treacy's Television Personalities first surfaced during the early days of the London punk movement, when cheap, lo-fi recordings were the only option. The songs sounded great, though, and underground cult status was instantly stamped upon them. Treacy's enigmatic, lost soul approach, together with the irony, social comment and surrealism of the songs made this band really special. Even if your heart is made of clay, the deep melancholy of songs like of I Could Write Poetry and Someone To Share My Life With are guaranteed to break it. Amazing. (9/10) JS

MARTIN NEWELL: The Wayward Genius Of . . . (Cherry Red) - Content with dishing out his music on unmarked cassettes anybody cared to send his way, it was inevitable that fame would never come knocking on Martin Newell's door. He's a bit of an eccentric, an oddball, but it's done him no harm. Moreover, it has enhanced his creativity. Having fronted bands nobody's heard of - The Cleaners From Venus and The Brotherhood of Lizards to name but two - his instantly likeable bedroom guitar pop gives passing nods of approval to everyone from The Kinks and The Small Faces to Elvis Costello. All power to the underdog and this interesting brew is well deserving of a discerning ear. (7/10) JS

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.