Well here we are again lovely readers with our eclectic selection of staff picks for you. September is sounding very tasty indeed if this lot are anything to go by!


Andrew Latham

Salad From Atlantis - Plastic Paradise
Goes back to the 90s this one, not heard for years and just found a download of it! Great psychedelic tinged punk from Brighton that toured with the likes of Citizen Fish. Half of them went on to become the Fish Brothers.

Omnia Opera - Beyond The Tenth
One of their cassette albums from the late 80s. A superb slice of acid space rock that just drips with orgasmic riffage. Reformed a few years back and can be found at cosmic/psychedelic fests and the odd gig these days.

Woodworkings - Goodbye Homes
I wouldn't care if this was was the worst record in the world! It's a CD that you can also put on your turntable and play and for that alone it's the greatest CD I will ever own! Limited to 100 copies worldwide by those kings of cool at Future Recordings, as with all their releases you can download it for free from their website. Awesome.



Ross Pike

The Black Angels - River of Blood
The Angels tried some different sounds on their most recent record "Phosphene Dream"; some successful, some less so but when they embrace their inherent darkness they're brilliant. 'River of Blood' is a swirling black cloud of a song and all the better for it.

Bonobo - Black Sands
As any hip hop enthusiast would easily notice I am quite obviously a rock fan when it comes to anything hip-hop related. I was an avid fan of Cypress Hill in my teens and frequently enjoyed DJ Shadow through bleary, blood shot eyes. Bonobo fits into this lineage as I age and become less and less blinkered about scenes - it has a warm psyche feel and the beats are far from aggressive as they slide in and out of these songs making for a beguiling listen.

Deer Tick - Born On Flag Day
Singer John J. MacCauley has a voice you can't fake. It is, as music journalist cliche dictates, whiskey soaked and gravel infused and sounds perfect singing lines like, "life is beautiful and beauty is a dying art". This record has a dust covered, faded newspaper quality to it with stories about people you'll never know and places you'll never visit but can conjure up in an instant such is the quality of the songwriting.



William Cross

Funeral For A Friend - Casually Dressed And Deep In Conversation
Following their weekend-stealing set at this year's Hevy Fest what better idea than to pull out a classic? Every song stands their debut up as a truly seminal album; if you've never heard it, you've got some serious work to do.

Defeater - Empty Days And Sleepless Nights
An absolute work of art. Much like Touche Amore's 'Parting The Sea Between Brightness And Me' it's a real journey of a record that does fresh, exciting and innovative things for hardcore. Essential listening.

Basement - I Wish I Could Stay Here
Hugely impressive at Hevy Fest, the young emo mob channel the likes of Lifetime and Jawbreaker while giving an exciting new spin on the genre. Honest and powerful, definitely check these guys out.



Jim Ody

Simple Plan - Get Your Heart On!
This is the band's best album since their 2003 debut, 'No Pads, No Helmets...Just Balls' mixing up the catchy big choruses from the aforementioned debut with the mature song-writing from the band's recent offerings. Well worth a listen.

Good Charlotte - Cardiology
Once again a return to form from another band. The band's first two albums rock, but then we had the wet fish that was the dark and self-confused "The Chronicles Of ..." opus, which killed off the interest of the mainstream and sent the band off to lick their wounds, have babies, and hang out/marry unstable socialites... "Cardiology" has the catchy tunes of the first couple of albums with the clever pop/crossover influences from 2007's come-back album, "Good Morning Revival", making this an album that has both balls and a more grown up sound. I saw them live a couple of weeks back and the gig was one of the best that I have been to - certainly one hundred times better than the disjointed and unenthusiastic Good Charlotte that I saw in Bristol six years ago...

Blink 182 - Take Off Your Pants And Jacket
Yes, I am reminiscing here, and for me this is one of the band's best albums. Now ten years on this was great pop/punk and the peak of the band's talents before they tried to grow up, and like the two band's above, also found that actually fans don't always consider this a good thing. I eagerly await the new album - I just hope that it won't be another "Chinese Democracy"...



Neil Richardson

Charlotte Eriksson - the Glass Child EP
Debut EP from our Band of the Month for August. It's a beautifully written and sung five track EP which just has me playing it over and over. Diverse styles from Miss Eriksson but each are just as captivating as each other.

Nico Vega - Nico Vega
Nico Vega were our Band of the Week at SXSW in 2009 for their high energy and pure enjoyment shows they put on. Their debut album from the same year has just been released worldwide and is still as fresh now as it was then. Give it a whirl, you won't be disappointed.

Dead Black Hearts - The Southern Front EP
Released at the end of August, this EP just oozes cool classy indie rock throughout. But that should not be surprising being signed up to Monolathe Records, one of those smaller labels that seem to have a perfect strike rate.


James Stant

Bowling For Soup - Drunk Enough to Dance
It was with this album that I really discovered Bowling For Soup, with the Texan quartet almost instantly becoming my favourite band. Not only does it feature a number of their well known singles ('Girl All the Bad Guys Want', 'Emily' and, if you have the re-released version with bonus tracks, 'Punk Rock 101'), but it offers plenty of addictive pop/punk/rock tunes that didn't rely so heavily on popular culture references (as later songs such as '1985' and 'High School Never Ends' did).

The Junk - Problem. Reaction. Solution.
A very impressive debut album for the British skacore ensemble, proving that they are certainly ones to watch out for in the future. Tracks such as 'Left For Dead' illustrate just how competent the group have already become and despite the occasional niggle, this is a solid outing for the octet. Some of their track titles may eventually land them in trouble, but for now, let's just enjoy the music!

Dreadnoughts - Polka's Not Dead
To date, this is the only album that I have ever awarded a Room Thirteen 13/13 rating to. There may be various albums released with greater technical competency, cleaner production values and so on, but I found this to be a truly entertaining and enticing album. This CD continues to occupy both my CD players and my iPod, with its infectious energy drawing me back time and time again.



Lucy Sanderson

Defeater - Empty Days & Sleepless Nights
Anyone who has been sat near my earphones and I of late will have probably heard this album blasting out. Not because I'm an inconsiderate wretch, but because to bathe in the enveloping magnificence of this scorching concept album is on a par with the most thrilling roll in the hay you've ever had... and I'm single. A little slice of hardcore punk heaven that has found itself revived in my CD collection ever since seeing them at Hevy Festival.

Unknown Mortal Orchestra - Unknown Mortal Orchestra
I oft resent falling for a band with a silly name that will be on the lips of every Nathan Barley-esque hipster shuffling their pretentiously ugly shoes around Hoxton, but sometimes you just can't help it. This is a more intelligent, funky-pop friendly take on giving that poor lo-fi horse a good ole' flogging. It's got it's quirks and it's sunshine-friendly. Shame there's just been very little 'summer' to speak of this year.

Toro Y Moi - Underneath The Pine
It's been six months since this gem came out but I've found myself revisiting it on a startlingly frequent basis- apparently my thirst for funk is insatiable. Electronic chillwave is good for the soul, especially when it coaxes your inner dancing demon to come out to play like this record does. Cling on to your lost memories of the warmer months with this deliciously pop friendly record.