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 very interesting album, bringing another face to the whole Solomon Islands / PNG area, which strangely enough comes from an Australian who has been working there for some years but now resides in Canberra. For whatever reason, some of the sounds here brought to mind some of the earlier Midnight Oil material, though there's not what I'd call a rock outing anywhere along this album.

In particular, the opening couple of tracks, of which "Blue Guitar" is an absolute standout that wouldn't be out of place alongside Redgum's I Was Only 19, as well as the great feel of "Dark Shadow". Also very strong are both the title track & the closer "The Infinite Ocean", which both showcase Fred's rather unique vocal style. Apparently this is Fred's second album - almost certainly not his last judging by the quality of this.

For more information, write to fredsmithsi@hotmail.com

M FRANCIS FESTER - I'M YOUR GOD

I'm not entirely sure just where this band are coming from, but the sound has certain rings about it that remind me a lot of bands like Sisters Of Mercy, with the guitar ethics of Marilyn Manson, who they have previously been compared with.

The style & lyrics are a darker effort than Sisters Of Mercy, but on a par with the sentiments behind quite a few other bands. There are some great moments such as "Insomniac", "Malignant" & my favourite here, "Scar" with some superb guitar throughout & if you're into Marilyn Manson, you'll most likely find this a darker trip.

For more information, write to thrash@eol.ca

SINDUST - SUCKING THE INSPIRATION

A great 3 piece out of Ohio in the US, Sindust have 3 prior releases to this album & have had the good fortune of exposure via MTV in the US, which no doubt spread their music farther afield than they probably thought possible back at the start of their career.

This as the band's 4th album takes what they've done before & really grabs some great noisy guitars & some equally impressive slightly quieter moments throughout, filling out some fuzzy guitar pop on tracks like "Daddy Long Legs", which opens up, as well a others like "I Shadow".

On a slightly different tack, the opening of "Nameless" starts off with a great quiet guitar section before moving on into a little more aggressive feel. It is in fact the band's noisiest songs that attracted me the most, with "Like A Pig" a fairly firm winner, bested only by "Me Time", which pulls the pace back but keeps the noise level up. Outstanding all round.

For more information, write to Chris Donley, Veinsquito@hotmail.com or sindust1@yahoo.com

TALES - THE SESKIAN WARS

Having received quite a few releases from Tales now, there's a common thread that seems to be recurring, that being that artist Jean-Luc Herve Berthelot, who is behind the project, has a real knack of being able to conjure up via sound, the real feeling of the subject of the music.

This album, as the artwork & title might suggest has a real 'spacey' sort of feel & I think that the title might actually refer to some piece of science fiction or other, but I'm not sure. There are, as you'd expect, some real ambient sections like on "Wreckage In Space", which has some great keyboard work", as well as "Eternal Warriors" & the closeout tune, which is the title effort, followed by an interesting couple of minutes of wonderful instrumental. This is about as close as you could get to space without actually visiting.

For more information, write to sitrec@free.fr