When you have a request for an album review from a drummer who plays in a Beatles tribute band with your son, these songs are not what you would expect. Drat is nothing like The Beatles, is the first thing I will say (with the small exception of First Person Shooters which does elude to this musical preference). But that's not a bad thing! In fact, I'm not sure I could quite place this album in a genre. There is a fair amount of straight-talking, in something that's not quite rap but also not quite spoken word either - realities of life, including having a lack of sleep, feeling like an idiot and a commentary of the writer's life, ironically titled 'No One Asked For Your Life Story'. This particular track gives you the context behind this album, the motivation for creating it and the process of doing so. My personal favourite is 'Tempo', that you can find on our new music playlist. This track is purely about the tempo, chosen by the writer, and his argum

  You could just go on Spotify and see that this single, Protect You, is the debut for Vicky Rayner and the Rest. But I'd like to delve a little deeper and give you some context to this track, which actually contains decades of experience on the part of all musicians involved in creating it. And to add icing to the cake, they are all local to Worthing! Rayner is a jazz and blues singer who was part of a band, Danger Zone, playing the clubs of London in the 1980s. They had varying degrees of success and one of their songs was included on a CBS London Jazz compilation on vinyl in 1986. She continued singing on the London scene for several years. More recently, Rayner has been part of Worthing's Spring into Soul choir, which is where she met bassist Mike Pailthorpe and percussionist Sean Quinn. Pailthorpe is a longstanding and highly respected member of the Worthing music community, having headed up the music department at Northbrook College for many years. He taught me back in 19

  I think I can speak for most people when I say that we all feel like we're running from something in our past! This song by four-piece Spudgun Assassins delves into the subject of demons, bad decisions and how we deal with it all. That's just life, isn't it? One way of coping is to write songs and this is a great example of catharsis right here. Starting with the vocal line 'I'm running - running from my demons' panned left then right, moving past the listener, drops us straight into this rock song with appropriately shouty vocals. It sounds as though the vocalist is severely frustrated at themselves and this comes across in the delivery, particularly during the chorus with the words 'bad decisions' that stab through with layers of vocal harmony. The arrangement and production of this track are expertly done, with well mixed and well played instruments. The bass cuts through perfectly and the guitar riffs are catchy, putting this song firmly in a posit

We all have dreams when we're young. Who has woken up one day and realised that those dreams are still the same but the years have passed and we've settled into something terribly ordinary? That's what this latest release from Si Connelly explores - the crushing realisation that life is what we make of it, and the time is now! Paradoxically, Connelly deviates from his usual style with this track, sounding more commercial with the arrangement. If you're not aware of his usual style, I would strongly suggest you find out. A prolific songwriter, Connelly has backed out of deals with Sony just to maintain his own creativity at the expense of the popularity that a label brings. I can't profess to understand all of his lyrics which tend to be metaphorical in nature, but I do know that I understand where he's coming from with this tune. If there was ever a kick up the backside to get going with making those dreams a reality, this song is it!

  If you have not already heard the music of Made Escape (brainchild of Emily Sapsed) then you have been missing out. The focus of Emily's songs are the lyrics, which she says are 'slightly sardonic and light hearted, telling a story'. This song fits the brief; a story of someone who moves house and despite missing the stained glass windows of the church in their former town, finds there is a stained glass window on their new front door. Where this kind of story would usually be a short anecdote, or indeed understood as a metaphor for the listener's own personal circumstances, Emily seems to be able to make it into a beautifully composed song. In keeping with the evoked vision of a church, this track uses an organ accompaniment to perpetuate this association. Emily's gorgeous vocals stand out and as the song builds, she adds on further layers of vocals and strings that take it somewhere ethereal. Simple storytelling, done in style. If you enjoy this, I'd recomme

  If you're a fan of hard rock, then you're likely to enjoy new band on the block, Archers Killing Archers. This five-piece have been working solidly behind the scenes for months, and suddenly exploded with a debut single and EP - so if you enjoy this song, there is more for you to explore! Having recorded in a live context results in an immersive experience for the listener; if you close your eyes, you're almost in the room with them on stage (and I have seen them live, so I can say this with certainty!). With some well coordinated distorted guitar and bass riffs kicking things off, Killing Joke immediately draws the listener in before Kurt's deep, gruff vocal joins in at the same time as the drums. The chorus is hooky, with some well timed backing vocals and a belting melody that stays in my head long after listening. Great music from a great new band - keep an eye out for more!