VARIOUS ARTISTS: On The Bone Compilation – Number One. (Album)

Another musical grab-bag from the Leeds' alternative scene – this time courtesy of On The Bone. James Brown and Tom Goodhand – long-time promoters of the rather hectic On The Bone gig nights have now dipped their toes in the murky waters marked 'record label' – and this is their debut release. (Bands that some casual punters may already be familiar with include The Lodger, The Somatics, Scaramanga Six and This Et Al.) As you would expect from a 19 track compendium of new music, the quality varies considerably across the album. Suffice to say – the good tracks - encompassing indie, post-rock, low-key electronica and folk – outweigh the bad. Just for the record, my particular highlights are: the moody post-indie stylings of Samsa ('The Fight'), the frantic, breathless punk-funk of Mother Vulpine ('We'll Be Detectives For The Day') and the hushed charms of Mickey Charbagz ('Fuckability'). All in all – plenty to further Leeds' claim to be one of the North's most fertile musical hunting grounds.

Tom Leins

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