This column reviews albums & singles released worldwide (i.e. not in a particular country). If your company wants an album reviewed on these pages, then you should read this. If you are in an unsigned band & you'd like your demo tape or CD reviewed, you should go here instead.

A rather unusual project this, with 63 year old Arol fronting the band, which from what I can gather, comprises 3 guys doing percussion, guitar etc... & putting out some sounds reminiscent of The Doors more poetic moments, with some more bluesy sounds that could be the influence of any of a number of bands that come to mind.

As mentioned, much of the music here is infused with blues sounds, immediately evident on opener "Can't Find The Words", which has quite a stretched opening with the vocals not appearing for a fair while into the track. The percussion is excellent throughout & it's obvious that the band have done quite a bit of work together.

The style takes a different turn in the middle of the album, with "My Story (To Feral)" putting in more of a rock feel, while the pick for me is "Eternity's Eye". With Arol's vocals being compared to a sort of female Jim Morrison', I'd have to agree somewhat with the description, with the emotion & feeling of the lyrics poured out. Maybe not everyone's scene, but some very interesting things going on here.

For more information, write to 370 Regan Jackson Rd, Mil Spring, NC 28756, USA or arolzendik@zendik.org

ATELLO - WELCOME TO THE WRECKING BALL

A band formed out of 3 other now defunct bands. The style if this New York based outfit reminds me distinctly of a cross between the somewhat diverse styles of Guns N Roses & Motley Crue, though they sit more at a midway point between those 2 extremes.

The opening track "The Wrecking Ball" is indicative of about 80% of the album, with a fairly cool hard edged rock that sits somewhere around the Dr Feelgood era of Motley Crue's career, though the sound is fairly well updated from that, more of a modern feel.

In my opinion though, the band seem to provide a better performance on the quieter moments here, such as "Tied Up In Love" & "Wish I Could Love Her", while the pick for me here is the very nicely set "Lifetime Away", again a slower feel, though the closer "Hard To The Core" is a somewhat more aggressive feel & caps off the album very well.

For more information, write to PO Box 60892, Stratten Island, NY 10306, USA or atello1@juno.com

ECONOLINE - BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS

If you can manage it, think The Cure, mixed curiously with the sounds of US band At The Drive In & you'll be somewhere in the ballpark for this particular outfit, who pretty much hit the mark with this 3 track single that sounds just great, with a nicely raw edged production that works a treat.

It's the title track here that really manages to pip the others at the post, grabbing a handful of guitar lashings & managing to pull that together with some awesome percussion & razor sharp vocals. "Dropper", in the middle of the 3 tracks doesn't quite hit the spot in the same way, but the epic closer "No Message Attached" certainly does & I think after a few listens, this is the one that would be my fave, with it's very cool strung out ending.

For more information, write to Seriously Groovy Records, 3rd Floor, 28 D'Arblay St, Soho, London, W1F 8EW, UK or dave.holmes@virgin.net

EMETREX - STARING AT THE STONE

A great band that I think is out of the US, though on a UK label, whose sound is very cool indeed. Their songs on this 3 track single are way cool, with some fuzzy guitars, great melodic vocals that impress at every level of the music, while the pop element also works on so many levels.

The opener here is the title track & while i's a great piece of pop rock, driven largely by guitars, it's the second track "No Big Loss" that really grabbed me, as it;s a piece of sheer pop perfection. On a par with that though is the brilliant closer "Saturn With The Rings", which in style is a sort of halfway point between the other 2 tracks, this perhaps more guitar oriented than "No Big Loss". Whatever the case, it's a very cool single indeed.

For more information, write to Seriously Groovy Records, 3rd Floor, 28 D'Arblay St, Soho, London, W1F 8EW, UK or dave.holmes@virgin.net

JOE RATHBURN - ROCKWELLS & PICASSOS

Coming from San Diego in the US, Joe Rathburn's music reminds me of a sort of solo edition of some of the more countrified R.E.M. work, particularly on a few of the tracks & if you threw in a little bit of Steve Earle or John Mellencamp's style, then you'd be getting somewhat closer to the mark.

This is fairly well spotted on the opening couple of tracks "Call It A Miracle" & "Together", which are both petty firmly set in that vein, while I have to say that my favourite tracks in particular here are both "What's The Big Idea?" & "Every Little Vict'ry". For fans of that lighter edged country folk rock feel, you'll more than likely be interested in this artist.

For more information, write to Betterworld Records, PO Box 600175, San Diego, CA 92160, USA or Joerath@aol.com

MEET THE SCENE - (VARIOUS ARTISTS)

An excellent compilation of some very cool bands out of Finland, put together by that country's Rhythm Barrel Records, sort of along the lines of The Big Backyard project in Australia but with a slightly different slant to things & running over 18 tracks, which is good value in anyone's language.

A very hard album to pick a favourite from, but the very slick sound of Puny's "New Day" really kicked a goal for my liking, while some of the other highlights include "Needless", a track by Bridget, who reminded me of the sounds of the now disbanded Custard. All the bands are well worth checking out here, but Spokane, Hundred Million Martians, Elliot Scale & Flannelmouth all stand out. Cool stuff indeed.

For more information, write to Rhythm Barrel Records, Puutarhakatu 44 AS 2, FIN-20100, Turku, Finland or miklap@utu.fi

MICHAEL WHITMORE - SOME'TET

If you crossed some of Nick Cave's most recent music with the sound of some of the most restrained music from The The, you might be somewhere in the vicinity of Michael Whitmore's music & I have to say that this is a very interesting album.

Michael's vocals are very reminiscent of Nick Cave's & to that end, a lo of the music is more in the sombre moods that might imply. Particularly impressive is the bluesy fusion of "Laudanum & Liquor / Leather & Lace", though others like "Throw Of The Dice" & "Your Mouth" are more indicative of the sounds you're likely to hear across this most interesting album.

For more information, write to PO Box 27021, Los Angeles, CA 80027-0021, USA or catgut@worldnet.att.net

MOTHER GOOSE - VILLAGE

Another cool band out of Helsinki in Finland, Mother Goose have already apparently released at least one ep, which you may have come across, Little Richard. If you have & it's anything like this particular single, then you need to grab this one too & if there's an album on the way, then we're all in for a real treat.

Reminding me more than any other band of Iceland's Sugarcubes out of which emerged Bjork, as well as on occasion, the slow sounds from Sonic Youth, Mother Goose are a winning combination that will definitely have you reaching for both the volume & repeat buttons.

The opener on this 3 tracker is the title track & it's a slow builder that really holds your attention. Sitting in the middle is a much noisier track called "Mozart", while the pick is the brilliant closer "Born Kind, Christmas Time", which I love to bits. This single is now more than 12 months old from what I understand so I hope the band have recorded more for us all by now.

For more information, write to Seriously Groovy Records, 3rd Floor, 28 D'Arblay St, Soho, London, W1F 8EW, UK or dave.holmes@virgin.net

THE POSSIBILITIES - WAY OUT

A very cool collection of tunes here, which have a fair few musical reference points, but there's no particular one that comes to mind other than R.E.M., primarily because Peter Buck from that band has performed with the band & also covered their music in one of his side projects.

A very hard album to pick a favourite from, but the standout for me is "Braintree", which is an excellent bit of work, very catchy & pop oriented in all the right places. That doesn't detract from any of the others here, other notable moments including "Everywhere I Look", opener "Invisible" & "Swing & Sway". A 5 piece outfit that deserve your attention in my estimation.

For more information, write to 310 Parkway Dve, Athens, Georgia, USA or Thepossibilities@aol.com

STONER KINGS - BRIMSTONE BLUES

A sort of subtitle here, 'Heavy As Damnation' pretty much defines what Stoner Kings are all about & their debut is a brilliant collection of mightily noisy tunes that I enjoyed immensely. It's not often that a harder edged band manages to pull it all together on the first album, but this Finland based 5 piece rock very hard,

Always a good thing to get the guitars out & blast your way into an album & in much the same way that Fu Manchu & perhaps to a certain extent, Mudhoney do, this band have really let fly with some killer lead riffs & some very solid bass backing it all up over a firm layer of percussion & wicked vocals.

Opener "The Ebb & The Flow" is an awesome way to segway into an album & is but a mere taste of what's to come, with the band not letting up for a moment, highlights including the mighty "Journey's End", "Stonehenge", "Goner" & the fantastic closer "Postmortem Blues". To sum it up, pretty damned outstanding.

For more information, write to Pandemonium, Kitusuontie 73, 35700 Vilppula, Finland or stonerkings@nic.fi or pandemonium@nic.fi

VINE SWEETLAND & THE FOREFATHERS OF THE NEW MILLENIUM - SATIVA

A band name surely conjured to annoy anyone who has to type or write it, I have come across this particular outfit before, the sounds on my previous listens being of an almost completely different nature to this 2 tracker, which will apparently not feature on the forthcoming album to be released later in 2002.

The title track is a very interesting piece of work., combining some traditional sounds with rock & it works well, being a very surprising addition to the band's repertoire. The second track is more in keeping with what I'd come across from them before, "Raga Bhanga", utilising what sounds like a sitar & some more Eastern sounding percussion. Certainly an interesting direction for this band.

For more information, write to Zemira, PO Box 41162, Long Beach, CA 90853, USA or info@zemira.com