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I don't remember how many editions the fabulous Ausnoise compilation series is up to, but this latest release is most definitely an outstanding bunch of tunes. For those out of the loop, Ausnoise is a concept put together by Sydney based company The Disk Emporium, in which a series of unsigned artist get a track on the compilation, which is then forwarded to radio & other media.

On this year's collection, there are numerous bands whose music will impress anyone who hears it. The West Australian music scene again proves how good the bands there are, with 3 Days Later contributing the very catchy punker track "Road To Normality", while solo artist N.Y.K, is very impressive with a great pop edged track called "Turn Me On".

Earlier on in the album, other impressive bands include Tallis, The Enemy Surf Band & the phenomenal opening indie guitar driven track "Snake Eyes" from Veiled Glade out of South Australia, a song which reminds me of some of the greatest moments of New Zealand's great guitar scene - A & R people, are you reading this? Definitely a worthwhile compilation with some real gems.

For more information on the Ausnoise series, write to The Disk Emporium, 77-79 Seven Hills Rd, Baulkham Hills, NSW, 2153, Australia or diskcopy@diskemporium.com.au

FEAR OF UNKNOWN - (VARIOUS ARTISTS)

As someone who sees a vast array of unsigned & unknown bands & artists, I can honestly say that there's nothing to fear on this album, which is chock full of some great music, ranging from harder sounding rock to softer pop, all from unsigned bands who here get the chance of some exposure thanks to Melbourne's Studio 52.

The album opens up with a couple of very cool hard rocking numbers from Plunja & Greenwich Meantime. The sound gets a little softer with the wonderful vocal style of Nicole Jones, whose contribution here "Reasoning" is one of the big highlights.

Then again, some more hard rock can be found nearing the end, with Deodium & another great standout, "Lost", from Rekless", while my pick here is the slightly eclectic guitar feel of Freaky Jason's "Welcome To The Freak Show". The bands here are definitely worth checking out & Studio 52 are to be applauded for their efforts in getting this compilation together.

For more information, write to Studio 52, 23-25a Johnston St, Collingwood, VIC, 3066, Australia or kool@c031.aone.net.au

MIKE! - O, GREENLAND!

Coming out of the US, Mike!'s music is certainly unique, with a very lo-fi feel to the sound overall & one of the most unusual high falsetto singing voices I think I've ever heard. While there are cited influences of Abba, The Beach Boys & others, you'll be hard pressed to hear any of those here.

Across the album, Mike! plays a variety of unusual instruments, in equally strange & interesting ways, fronting over the top with that vocal technique. I'm unsure just where Mike! is heading with all this, but if you like experimentation in your music, then this will be for you.

For more information, write to Orange Entropy Records, PO Box 1198 Hightstown, NJ 08520, USA or mike@orangeentropy.com

MONSTER BOX - ONE EIGHTEEN

An excellent album from US band Monster Box, whose sound across the album here reminds me a little of the latest material from Matchbox 20 & Taxiride. The first couple of songs left me a little uncertain as to which direction the band were heading &, though they recover with great skill by the 3rd song in "Stone Soul" & from there, never look back.

Moving into later tracks here & the band excel at slower guitar driven rock outings like "Final Journey" & my personal favourite, "Living Takes Up All My Time" (I know just how they feel!), while a couple of others worth mentioning here are the slightly more upbeat "Rolling Clocks" & of course, the title track. Having been together since 1995, it's hardly surprising that the music here is worthy of attention & this album shows a band very mature in it's performance & songwriting abilities.

For more information, write to rick@monsterbox.org

O'K TOKYO - RELAPSATION

A very cool ep from O'k Tokyo, a West Australian based band, with the majority of instruments & the vocals done by Matt Roesner, the remainder by guest musicians. The sound here varies somewhat, but the larger number of tracks are quite electronic in feel & there's more than a couple of highlights here.

Opener "Body Electric" has a somewhat urgent feel to it, while others like "This Confusion We Are In" bring to mind cross pollenation of funk & electro-fusion, some great sampling & electronic effects filling out 3 bonus tracks, the pick of which is "Protomode".

Highlight for me is the somewhat spacey, tripped out feel of "Pablo Dali", which really hits the mark in no uncertain manner, Matt's vocals pretty much sealing the deal. It's a wonder that more people don't know about this ep, but now you do, check it out.

For more information, write to PO Box 185, Harvey, WA, 6220, Australia or matt@roesner.com.au

RAHUL SAKYPUTRA - THE DENMARK SESSIONS

Recorded some 30 years ago, this interesting 3 track collection of Indian music is quite interesting. Though I've never heard of the artist concerned, he's apparently highly regarded as an Indian musician. His first foray outside India was to Denmark, where this selection was recorded.

The first 2 tracks here span quite a length of time & were recorded at Arhus in Denmark, shortly before performing at the Denmark International Music Festival, both tracks as you'd expect showcasing Rahul's mastery of Indian instruments. The 3rd track, is an interesting piece, coupling spoken word & instrumental & provides an interesting insight into Rahul's journey as a musician & person.

For more information, write to Zemira, PO Box 41162, Long Beach, CA 90863, USA or info@zemira.com