Of course it would not have been so easy without the therapeutic help I’ve recieved from a number of thoughtful bands to whom I will be forever grateful.

First up on my podium of gratitude spring The Shrine Heresy whose four-track CD is completely blank and/or otherwise unplayable. I treated myself to some overdue exercise by taking it around to different machines to see if I could squeeze any kind of noise out of it but I drew blanks at each one. When I’d recovered from my exertions I recuperated by admiring the photo of Jim Garrison on the back and the famous painting Et In Arcadia Ego on the front. Sheer ecstacy. Who needs music if blank CDs can make you feel so good?

When I stirred myself out of my semi-coma I listened rather casually to a CD by a band called Petty Monk from Tyrone. I say casually because I was going to check into it later with a studious expression on my face as soon as the biog promised by one of their members at the Heineken Green Energy Seminar arrived via e-mail. Although I gave this good man my address I’m still waiting.

Then to cap a remarkably stress-free fortnight I popped a video by a band from the West of Ireland into the video machine only to discover that it was as blank as the Shrine Heresy’s CD. I watched the video all the way through twice and saw nothing.

So maybe there’s a lesson to be learned here. Before you send something to somebody make sure there’s something on it. Otherwise you’re making life far to easy for the likes of me.

Somehow I knew my spell in rehab wouldn’t last, for along came a CD by Rudy (not to be confused by the seventies Northern outfit Rudi) and it actually had music on it! Holiday over and back at work I discovered that apart from its enigmatic title Are you thee? Why? it served up a feast of healthy slabs of contemporary pop-rock. The opener ‘Underfoot’ is a fine song that would not be out of place in U2’s catalogue and it shows that vocalist Ed Cullen is a real find. ‘Inside (I’m Alive)’ is punchier but no less admirable, with the band showing the confidence to leave lots of space when the song demands it. ‘Clubber’ slows the pace and conjures the kind of bleak atmosphere Radiohead specialise in. All in all a real treat to discover a band neither writing nor playing by numbers.

If you can imagine Sade with real balls you’re getting close to what Shaz Oye can do. Oye has a rich dark voice that reaches the lower parts that few female vocals reach and she writes songs that show her as a consummate musician. ‘Worn Out’ has a sinuous chorus that gradually worms its way under your skin and would be ideal for a vocalist like Heather Small if she wanted to venture beyond the pop-dance ghetto. ‘Lady Sings The Blues’ is a truly remarkable effort, with Oye’s voice swooping and soaring like a seasoned pro and showing a real feel for the song’s meaning as well as its melody. If the world only needs one more tribute to Billy Holiday then this must be it.

‘All A Woman Has’ is a punchier effort but only serves to underscore the previous view of Oye as a real find. It will be a serious omission if she doesn’t work her way into the affections of all and sundry, at home and abroad.

Subrosa have recorded a Fanning session and one of their tracks ‘Mind Racing’ is being remixed by Ministry of Sound dj Nat Monday. Their CD single brings evidence of a band who could be a Tindersticks for people who smile a little. In Sarah Verdon they have a brilliantly fey vocalist and she is ably assisted by guitars, bass and drums. ‘Soul Reminders’ is a restrained bit of ambient doodling with lots of arpeggioed guitar and which in its own good time dissolves into a pop-rock song of power and quality and even has a decent hookline in “no sorrow, no shame”.

‘We Move Forward’ proves that track one was no fluke. Subrosa clearly know how to make records which are more than the sum of their parts and if they play their cards right could be heading for the big time. b