Demo Parade

I said to an A&R man the other day that I could never do his job and I thought I meant it. Only later did it hit me that my job is, in some ways, harder than A&R. After all, it would be a lot easier to let myself get away with listening to the first thirty seconds or so of a tape before proclaiming that I wanted nothing to do with it.

Of course, I don't have to put big bucks behind bands whose tapes I like and risk losing said money, not to mention my job. That said, it's all the more disheartening when I don't get excited about a tape, considering how low the risks of doing so are. Luckily today, there are a few pearls of hope in an otherwise murky netful of tapes.

First off, Fibrehead, who are from London but sound like what INXS might if they were from Seattle (and, lucky for them, not 'a demented cross between Faith No More and the Red Hot Chilli Peppers' as Time Out wrote). 'Weird' and 'So What' are slightly grunged up, yet soulful, pop songs with guitar work that makes their supports to That Petrol Emotion understandable. 'Stranger' boasts a stronger dance element than the other two, and its sinster guitar lines send chills midway up the spine. With a slight Doors tendency that the band will hopefully keep in check the way they do here, and a blatant excitement about what they're doing, Fibrehead earn themselves the demo of the fortnight.

Rex Mundi maintain some of the same energy but for some reason it translates as enthusaism instead of actual excitment. The band seem to be giving it their all, but their charisma rating is low.The lead vocalist has a limited vocal ability and these same-ish, light indie rock songs don't make up for it in the originality department. Most disturbingly, the drums never seem strong enough, allowing the wandering melodies to stray from whatever path they were intended to go down. Not the worst of tapes, mind you, but Rex Mundi just don't do a great job here of winning people over.

What?! next. The first sound here is basically acoustic and Frames-y though from then on What?! seem to draw more from The Commitments than they do Glen's other band. Using many standard soul/blues formulas including stereotypical piano and harmonica solos, the band could potentially fall about as flat as The Commitments OST Part II. Instead, the band provide an enjoyable tape, if not one I'd want to listen to repeatedly on my own time. A slow bluesy, spoken word song, is by far the tape's highlight.

Two members of the Hot Press advertising staff have been singing the praises of Murmur, a band who played at the Tower Records opening, and hounding me to listen to the tape. As it transpires, the songs are all solid, occasionally riveting - but whether a band that sounds like Bryan Adams fronting The Waterboys can make any impact right now, I just don't know.

Manor Park Project start out strong with 'I Need You Now', a fascinating track with a pinch of Caribbean flair meeting thrash and haunting, trailing female vocals. However neither the performance nor the production live up to the potential of the song. The rest of the tape isn't as successful, with the second song rambling on a bit, relying on drawn-out notes to carry a melody that doesn't fit with the music, either harmonically or with regard to phrasing. Too bad, because vocalist Jacinta Gilligan more than hints that she'd fare well with the right material.

Jaylene Slide are a bit of a puzzle. 'Tortured Soul' sounds like Moody Blues shaking hands with The Waterboys with an adolescent U2 making the introduction. 'The Belonging Kind' brings The Doors and Depeche Mode-y synths together, while singer Keith Barton articulates the lyrics as if he were a non-English speaker who'd been taught them phonetically. And if it weren't for the prominence of the synthesizers, the whole affair would sound fairly radio rockish. A band with potential who are seriously in need of direction.

And lastly, Oedipus X, offer an equally eclectic grunge/funk/rap/metal hybrid that doesn't seem to know who its parents are. The band have some funky riffs, but seem to be relying on the strength of the lead singers metal crooning and shouldn't. The overall effect is a bit stiff, mostly because the singer and band seem to be doing their own - and separate - things. It makes me think that the band should change their approach to songwriting, because most of the elements here don't seem to be complementing each other the way they should and could.

• You can hear some of the tapes reviewed in Demo Parade by tuning into the Youth Affairs City Limits programme on Anna Livia Radio 103.8 FM every Saturday morning between 10am and 12 noon in conjunction with Hot Press.