A new album from composer, beat maker and producer Phi Bui makes its way on to the Eilean roster by the name of ‘Unnoticed Moments’. From his base in San Francisco, CA, Phi Bui has created an intricate web of sounds by capturing numerous pops and clicks that can be heard from everyday living, to the cutting and pasting of snippets of music taken from styles ranging from jazz, hip-hop and classical music for example. The results are impressive with, in particular, ‘Helping’ successfully combining a jazz rhythm with cut up beats lifted from a modern sounding era, and one that rubs coarsely against the smoother textures of the aforementioned jazz instrumentation. A demonstration of further influences arrives via the operatic vocals and looped beats of ‘Doubt’, which aptly expresses its title. There are ethereal qualities attached to the likes of ‘Birth’ which nags with its constant static interference, to the clearer yet still fragile  ‘A Klee’. There is greater range here in relation to some of Phi Bui’s contemporaries as the oriental twist of ‘Une Femme’ throws a curveball with its broad strokes of sound thrown sharply across its canvass, only to be interrupted by the banging and clashing of metal objects at various intervals. It is in those ‘Unnoticed Moments’ that seemingly much is going on, which is expertly brought to our attention via Phi Bui’s latest creation. Top marks indeed.

Apparently known for her blue eyes and Australian passport, there is far more to Coral Lee Farrow once the contents of her sophomore album infiltrates your senses and works its way deep inside your soul. For this is an album full of musical promise with its various temptations and influences ranging from rockabilly to swing to country to tempt your musical senses. The laidback intro of ‘All I Can Do Is Sing’ is the perfect start to this album, in fact any album, as Coral Lee Farrow consigns a relationship to its past where the lyrics talk of its history, just as much as the instruments play their part in relaying this particular story. Elsewhere, ‘Big Wide World’ chugs out a mild rockabilly beat with some fine guitar and steel guitar making their marks on this song. The open heart confessions of ‘My Sweet Baby’ reveal a song with nothing to hide, and it’s a delight to hear with the vocals raw and passionate and the song’s rhythm chipper in its expression. Later on you will hear songs about the blues, complete with handclaps (‘Black Cat Blues’), and joyous occasions that involve ‘Boppin’ On The Moon’, and probably a first in terms of naming a song ‘Rodney’, which sounds far more glamourous than its name suggests with its details regarding “waiting for the train to Sydney…”. ‘The Weather Vane’ is a record that remains loyal to the various genres incorporated in its sound, but it is one that brings a freshness to its lyrical themes, and that is to be applauded.

Surfing the waves for another outing is the Surfin Gorillas and their current album ‘Aloha’. What the listener gets is a track list of largely rip-roaring surfin’ instrumentals consisting of original compositions and covers. The difference here is that ‘Aloha’ introduces vocals on a few of the tracks, and in the process reveals another dimension to the band. Kicking things off is the excellent Dick Dale inspired ‘Riptide Surfer’, with the Surfin’ Gorillas very own guitarist Andy Wren being responsible for this particular track. From there on, the tracks range from the well-known ‘Move It Baby’, to the energised version of Curtis Knight & the Squires (featuring Jimi Hendrix) ‘Hornet’s Nest’. The song writing skills of Andy Wren pop up again for the lively and infectious ‘Beach Party’, before more original compositions crop up via drummer Gary Griffin with the speedy rhythm of ‘Surfin’ Crazy’ and title track, ‘Aloha’, that is particularly memorable for some fine sax via Clive Osborne. Totalling fifteen tracks, there is plenty of old school surfin’ sounds to take in and enjoy because there is far more on the up here than on the down.

For those in the know, The Hypothesis formed during a severely cold winter in Kouvola, Finland, which seems to provide a reminder for the band in terms of the manner in which they roll out the contents of their debut album. Whilst nothing can be described as light in tone here, considering the level of heavy crunching riffs and pummelling drum sounds, The Hypothesis allow for additional ideas to creep in to their overall sound with numerous melodic touches added to their grooves. Evidence of these ideas can be heard from their new album, ‘Origin’, that was given the upmost care and attention to detail during a recording stint in 2012 deep in the heart of the Viitasaari countryside as the band laid out their nine tracks. Former single ‘Eye For Eye’ is one that stands out for its flittering electronic intro before launching headfirst into a full-on assault of guitars, drums and roaring yet gruff vocals of Antti Seppälä. From such songs, The Hypothesis show their range by combining heavy textures with more melodic moments and a greater willingness to experiment with songs such as ‘Weak Story’ and ‘Atonement’. There is no doubting the dexterity of their musicianship as The Hypothesis often deliver an uncompromising sound but one that reveals extreme levels of detail that should see this five-piece unit garnering a whole host of new supporters once ‘Origin’ makes its entrance to a wider market.

First hearing of The Muddies debut album ‘First Blood’, the feelings were of a band who certainly like to have fun, and no how to achieve such an objective. Stemming from Vaajakoski in Finland, The Muddies is a rock band with a high level of energy, and one that possesses influences from a variety of classic rock bands such as AC/DC, Motörhead, Dr. Feelgood, The Hives and, as far as the humour goes, Aerosmith. The first signs of this merriment can be found in the song titles with examples such as ‘Cougar Hunter’, ‘Wacko Wacko’ and ‘Don’t Touch Your..’ certainly failing to adhere to any form of political correctness found in the current era. This is largely down to The Muddies ideals residing in a 70s – 80s time capsule, where certain points of view were part of the furniture when it came to the genre of rock music. Times have changed, however. Despite any misgivings here, the band’s noise is far from stuck in a bygone era because The Muddies ramp up their sound to give it a fresh feel. Part of the excitement surrounding The Muddies goes back to the previously mentioned energy at the centre of this rock quartet, which is captured expertly by the rockin’ guitars and Rolling Stones ‘Sympathy For The Devil’ backing vocals during the aforementioned ‘Cougar Hunter’, which can be interpreted a couple of ways if you think about it. Much later, there is the riveting ‘Shaken Not Stirred’ that will peel back your eardrums, to the in-your-face attitude and highly addictive beat of ‘I Want Something’. The key to all of this however, lies with the excellent ‘River’ where the guitars excel once more, and the band dig deeper in terms of the lyrics. On the evidence of this first album, The Muddies is a band here to stay, and ‘First Blood’ is just the start.

After what amounted to six years in hibernation, Norwegian trio, Cloroform, finally reared their collective heads with the first signs of their comeback with the single ‘Beach Buns’. The truth is that all three band members – comprising of John Erik Kaada, Børge Fjordheim and Øyvind Storesund – had been occupied with other activities involving solo projects, film compositions and moonlighting for other artists such as Kaisers Orchestra, Morten Abel and Sivert Høyem. Whilst the cheekily named and out-of-season single, ‘Beach Buns’ delivered a classic stoner riff, the song also revealed Cloroform’s split personality where eccentricity often performs a vital role in their creative output. Such unpredictability is rife throughout ‘Grrr’ where sample-heavy tracks such as ‘Lakris’ borrow from 70s and 80s pop and soul music, and then swing through manic electro lust numbers (‘Squeeze’), only to slow the pace via the atmospheric instrumental, ‘Pelican Sunrise’. There are a handful of bands that one could draw comparisons with when it comes to Cloroform, but that is mainly down to the unconventional nature of their song writing rather than sounding directly like any of these artists. With a reliance on cutting and pasting their ideas and sounds together from previous recorded works, Cloroform has turned this into an art form where you may be convinced you just heard a reference to U2’s ‘Ultra Violet (Light My Way)’ during the Norwegian’s ‘Walk, Don’t Walk’, but everything is just so skewered and then patched up that it’s difficult to really know for sure. Either way ‘Grrr’ is a clear reminder that music is a medium that deserves to be experimented with, and this is something Cloroform revel in, as well as injecting their songs with a strong sense of humour.