Polly & The Billets Doux make jazz-infused acoustic music, and it’s beautiful, energetic and loads of fun. Having released debut album ‘Fiction, Half-Truths & Downright Lies’ through tiny indie label Bleak Mouse Records in 2009, the band have been touring all over the UK to great acclaim, including playing Glastonbury, Loopallu and The Big Chill over the past year.

You can head over to their MySpace page and check out their tunes – from the rock ‘n’ roll track ‘Follow My Feet’ that is instantly likeable, through to the more tender throws of ‘To Be A Fighter’, it’s all amazing stuff.

Be warned, however, that the recordings have nothing on the band’s amazing live performances; I caught them at The Enterprise in Camden earlier this month, and the show was seriously brilliant. You’ll catch them at a range of festivals over the next month or so, and a little birdie told me they’ll be touring later in the year, so keep your eyes open!

You can buy their debut album ‘Fiction, Half-Truths and Downright Lies’ by clicking here.

I first heard about  The Robot Heart when they were announced as a support act for The Miserable Rich‘s extravagant summer show at St. Giles’ Church in June. When an email about them arrived in my inbox, I was delighted to have a proper first listen, and after having a listen to first few bars of ‘Lost In Stereo’, an intimate love affair began…

With boy-girl harmonies that resemble a much better version of Slow Club, The Robot Heart brings together “multi-harmony singing, acoustic guitars, piano, clattering drums, electronica and assorted gadgetry”. Their press release tells me that they’ve already supported Gomez, Tunng, Athlete and Ed Harcourt so far this year, so it seems that- in Brighton at least – these lovely folk are receiving lots of positive recognition.

Head over to their MySpace page and have a listen, and keep checking back as I’ll be reviewing their mini-album very soon…

If you cross-bred Mumford & Sons with Fleet Foxes, I imagine that Alms is what you’d get. “Mumford & Sons? Fleet Foxes?” I hear you say, “What amazing bands! Alms must be pretty good!” Well, now that you mention it, they really are.

The four-piece from West London (now based in Bristol) are one of the most interesting bands I’ve heard of late, and they’re a blogger’s dream in this respect, as I think I’m one of the first people to write about them.

Having already played Communion Bristol to roaring acclaim, you’ll next catch these wondrous folkies at The Selkirk in London. Until then, check out their MySpace page, and grab three free tracks from their Last.fm page via the links below:

Alms – Simply

Alms – Shove

Alms – Your Spine

I have two confessions. Firstly, I went to see I Blame Coco because Coco Sumner, frontlady of the band in question, is the daughter of Gordon “Sting” Sumner, and Mr Sumner’s music is something I was raised on and have liked since childhood. He might not be considered that cool these days, but I’m not afraid to embrace a little Sting love. Second confession? I kind of think I want to be Coco Sumner, or perhaps be her best mate at least.

The talented 19-year-old took to the main stage of Secret Garden Party in a cloud of smoke and a sound collision of electro-inspired pop-rock for a just-the-right length set that showed off Coco’s roots, but also lived up to  a well-deserved reputation for unique and engaging live performances. Her explosive musical sound and style is incredibly active, and for rather a small young woman, she has a wonderful way of filling such a huge stage – from dancing around to inviting members of the audience on stage with her and the band.

Highlights included debut and current single ‘Self Machine’, the second song of a wondrously hyperactive set, and final tune ‘Quicker’. As well as flawless vocal delivery, Coco proves she can hold her weight musically too, by picking up a guitar for a couple of well-receives tunes midset.

Having seen Coco’s acoustic performances on the BBC’s Glastonbury coverage, my expectations for the full live show were rightfully high. I Blame Coco definitely didn’t disappoint, and I’ll definitely be picking up a copy of the album as soon as possible. Really wonderful stuff.

As Saturday nights go, mine was a real treat. I was lucky enough to be one of 200 people who spent it at The Flowerpot in Kentish Town (incidentally a venue run by the amazing Beans On Toast), where the advertised “members of Mumford & Sons” were in fact joined by Damien Rice, Pete Roe, Alan Pownall, and Angus & Julia Stone for an unforgettable night of music madness.

I arrived before the 7pm opening time and was glad to have done so when I joined the back of an already long queue outside the tiny pub. Until after the music finished at 11pm, the outside of this musical den was brimming with people hoping to earn themselves a place inside to touch elbows with the stars and hear some inspiring tunes – with a one-in-one-out policy, however, an exceptional few were in fact successful!

First to grace the stage was the wonderful Pete Roe, who treated us to his new EP ‘The Merry Go Round’ (released through Communion, of course) in its entirety, before inviting a collective of other musicians on stage for an epic finishing number that really set the scene for the rest of the evening. Angus & Julia Stone were up next, and impressed with a short and beautiful set which concluded with a wonderful cover of Grease’s ‘You’re The One I Want’, for which Damien Rice joined them on stage. I’ll definitely be checking out Angus & Julia’s next show.

The Communion brand is well-known for its collective, community spirit, and the addition of Damien Rice on an otherwise rather Communion-oriented lineup was not out of place. The caveman-fashioned Mr. Rice invited twenty or so members of Communion’s star-studded audience on stage and acted as conductor to form an impressive vocal version of ‘Volcano’, complete with grouped audience harmonies and body percussion. An extraordinary scene to watch unfold, standing just an arm’s length from the action. The drummer who performed with Damien later told me they met on stage, having never played together before.

Alan Pownall followed the Damien Rice experience, and where most would seem underwhelming after such a unique performance from Damien Rice, Alan didn’t disappoint in the slightest. Aided by members of Mumford & Sons on stage, Alan performed four beautiful songs that showed enchanting personality and passion. Our friends over at The Ruckus were savvy enough to grab an acoustic session with Alan upstairs after his set – you can check out the videos here.

My first London Communion experience was exceptional, and the man running the show – the also exceptional Kev Jones (formerly of Cherbourg) – deserves all the praise in the world. Having been going to gigs since age 12, I can honestly say that this was one of the best nights I have ever had the privilege of attending. Long live Communion.

We are lucky enough to have a pair of tickets to give away, and you can enter this competition in a couple of ways (and yes you can enter twice by doing them both):

THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED

This competition is only open to those with UK addresses I’m afraid and if you enter make sure you’re free to go to the festival. The closing date for entries is 21/07/2010.

Thank you to InterCasino for providing the tickets.

Field Day [Twitter | MySpace | Facebook]

Just to get you all excited – here’s the lineup

6 Music is, in my mind at least, exactly what this so called digital revolution with more space for radio stations was supposed to be for. They have taken the ideas and aims behind the late great John Peel‘s radio show and turned that into an entire station, helping struggling artists and unsigned bands get a leg up towards wider recognition. It has become a fantastic breeding ground for new musical talent, and helps foster and channel those talents so that the wider listening public will get to hear new music.

Radio 1 and Radio 2 cater to a wider listening audience and serve their purposes well, but they don’t foster grass roots talent – that is not their objective and never really as been outside of a few shows such as that of Huw Stephens and a couple of others. I don’t mean to insult Huw at all – he does an excellent job of scoping new talent, but his is just one show whilst 6 Music is a whole station. So where do the bands come from before they get the mainstream media attention, a record deal and onto the playlists of Radio 1 or 2 depending on their audience demographic? That is where 6 Music sits, as the first baby steps of exposure for new bands.

Yes, before 6 Music was launched bands had to find other ways to scramble into mainstream playlists and some found fame, but so much good music was never heard as bands never got that lucky break. And that was it, luck had a good part to do with getting discovered. 6 Music is one of the reasons that the current musical landscape is so exciting, with new coming to mainstream attention more quickly. Yes blogs (possibly like this one…) are another reason, and we’d all like to claim a role in the launch of a few careers, but the BBC has the infrastructure and access to the public consciousness that no other media entity can compare to, and using that power to foster new talent is what I see as one of the primary roles of the BBC. In their Mission Statement, the BBC claim “creativity is our lifeblood” – well this is where that comes from. The BBC = talent (not U2!), and 6 Music is where that talent gets discovered.

As Matthew over at Song, by Toad put so eloquently “Radio One is what is already happening, and Radio Two is what was never happening.  These stations are entirely dominated by the finished article, but who is going to finish that article for them?  In the absence of 6Music there will be the shiny, professional mainstream at one end, and tiny DIY enterprises like this one at the other, and absolutely not a single bloody thing inbetween.”

Mark Thomson (BBC Director General) claims that 6 Music overlaps too much with commercial stations. Really? Can someone, anyone point me to a commercial station that covers such a wide variety of musical styles and tastes? Or one that puts quite so much effort into scoping new talent? Yes Xfm offers some good indie and alternative playlists and some of the artists may not have a mass following yet, but that would conflict more with Zane Lowe’s show on Radio 1 than anything on 6 Music.  If you want commercial overlap look at both radio 1 and Radio 2, I’m quite happy with them and the BBC doesn’t seem to want to change them, but between them the majority of their shows overlap with almost every commercial station in the UK from Absolute Radio to Capital FM. The Beeb has never pussy footed around the commercial sector, and just because Murdoch’s son has started whining because he can’t monetise parts of his media empire does not mean now is a time to start. And even if it was, 6 Music is not what the BBC’s commercial competitors are complaining about.

What can you do about this?

Most importantly listen to 6Music and appreciate what they do
(no-one likes those who fight for a cause because they read about it in the paper and thinks they should… *ahem* Daily Mail readers *ahem*)

Social Media and Online support
Sign the petitions at Petition FM and Go Petition
Join the Save BBC 6Music Facebook Group
Fill in this BBC Strategy Review consultation form and email them to make sure they know your thoughts.

Show your support in person

There is a free gig in support of 6 Music at 93 Feet East on May 4th showcasing some of the fantastic talent 6Music has nurtured over the years including Ian McNabb (Icicle Works), Goldheart Assembly, I Like Trains, RedTrack, We Rock Like Girls Don’t, Shabby Rogue, Isa & The Filthy Tongues, and Alexander Price.
Bands are on from 18.30.

In a band?

Do some busking in front of the BBC Broadcasting House. Record it and upload the video to Youtube and post the video to the Facebook group

(Thank you to Love 6 Music for the pictures from the protest)

I’ve already waxed lyrical about how much I love the idea behind the PEACE musical atlas compiled by the Buffetlibre duo, but it gets released next month and we’ve got an update with the full and ridiculously impressive list of artists across the globe and a few more MP3s to share.

PEACE is conceived as the first musical atlas online, with more than 150 brand new  songs by artists from more than 50 countries/territories. PEACE will be available digitally worldwide on April 12 …and the best part? All the proceeds go to Amnesty International and their campaign for human rights across the globe and you can choose how much you want to pay/donate (minimum €2) And you don’t have to listen to Bono’s whining!

But to get you thoroughly enthused here are a few samplers

Marissa Nadler – I Love My Man
The Antlers – Two (Buffetlibre Remix)
The Requesters – Breakin’ Up
Ivri Lider – Mike
Plushgun – Mixtapes
Bonde Do Role & DJ Chernobyl – Dolphins
The Toxic Avenger – NU 1553
Ryuichi Sakamoto feat Christian Fennesz – PEACE
Jeremy Fowler – Lost In This Garden
Wanlov The Kubolor – Just Like You

And the full line up is finally here – one hell of a mixture.
- JAPAN: Ryuichi Sakamoto
- BRAZIL: Bonde Do Role & DJ Chernobyl
- TIBET: Karjam Saeji, Loten Namling, Techung
- USA: Micah P Hinson, Steve Wynn, Crocodiles, Dan Deacon, Voxtrot, Marissa Nadler, A Place To Bury Strangers , The Antlers, Asobi Seksu, Spinto Band, Port O’Brien, Bart Davenport, Dent May, Ki:Theory, Mike Viola, Flashmen, Her Space Holiday, Pretty & Nice, Ra Ra Riot, Sic Alps, Blacklist, DeLeon, Gala, Jeffrey Lewis, United States of Electronica, Gregor Samsa, Thao + The Get Down Stay Down, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, Still Flyin’, Plushgun, Softlightes, Princeton, Odyze, This Will Destroy You, The Low Anthem, Cruel Black Dove, Avian X
- UK: Marc Almond, 4hero, Mogwai, Patrick Wolf, Dubstar, Rose Elinor Dougall , Si Begg, frYars, Gyratory System, Darren Hayman, Cicada, GoldieLocks, Lucky Soul, Official Secrets Act, Frankmusik, The Ultrasonics, Trouble Over Tokyo, A Certain Ratio, The Boy Least Likely To, You Love Her Coz She’s Dead, Gala, Catherine AD
- CHINA: The Pet Conspiracy
- SENEGAL: Malick Pathé Sow
- CHILE: Javiera Mena, Francisca Valenzuela, DJ Raff
- BURUNDI: Eric Baranyanka
- CANADA: Apostle Of Hustle, Buck 65, Malajube, The Hidden Cameras
- BELGIUM: Vive La Fête, The Neon Judgement, Girls In Hawai, King & Svenson
- TUNISIA/ALGERIA: DuOud
- AUSTRIA: Fennesz, A Life A Song A Cigarette
- AUSTRALIA: Jeremy Fowler, The Vines, Aeons, Sarah Blasko, Operator Please, Birds Of Tokyo, An Horse
- ALGERIA: MHD & Starlight, Maghrebika, Baäziz
- HONG KONG: Marshmallow Kisses, Tramgirl Karaoke Club
- NEW ZEALAND: The Veils, The Phoenix Foundation
- CUBA: Martha Galarraga
- REPUBLIC OF KOREA: EE
- GREECE: Marsheaux, Mikro
- NORWAY: Rockettothesy, Ane Brun, Ingrid Olava
- GHANA: Wanlov The Kubolor
- GERMANY: Stereo Total, Ascii Disko, Console, Escape With Romeo, Jeans Team, Kissogram, Maral Salmassi & Zero Cash, Kitbuilders, Locas In Love
- FRANCE: Tahiti 80, Black Strobe, The Toxic Avenger, Titi Robin, The Delano Orchestra, Amelie Les Crayons, Outlines, Saï Saï, My Broken Frame, Debmaster
- FINLAND: Jori Hulkkonen
- LEBANON: Abaji
- GREENLAND: Angu
- DENMARK: Cartridge, The Broken Beats
- COLOMBIA: Frankie Jazz
- MALI: Vieux Farka Touré
- ITALY: Dusty Kid, Amari, Amycanbe, Le Man Avec Les Lunettes, Perturbazione
- FRANCE/ISRAEL: Keren Ann & Shlomi Shaban
- ISRAEL: Ivri Lider, Tamar Eisenmann, Karni Postel, Nico Teen, The Biting Sheep
- IRELAND: Mundy, Hystereo
- UGANDA: Seby Ntege
- INDONESIA: Mocca, Efek Rumah Kaca, White Shoes & The Couples Company
- INDIA: Motherjane, menwhopause, Shaa’ir + func
- RUSSIA: Tesla Boy, Cut2Kill
- ICELAND: Amiina, múm
- HUNGARY: We Plants Are Happy Plants
- EGYPT: Bikya
- SWEDEN: I’m From Barcelona, Sally Shapiro, Peter Von Poehl, Lacrosse, Napoleon, Air France feat Jack Wilson
- SPAIN: Miqui Puig, We Are Standard, Olimpic, Boat Beam, The Requesters, After After Hours, The Pinker Tones, Triangulo De Amor Bizarro, Elastic Band, Undo, The Amplid, Mendetz, Niki
- SOUTH AFRICA: DJ Mujava, 340ml
- FINLAND/GERMANY: AGF/Delay
- SERBIA: sevdahBABY
- IRAQ: Aida Nadeem, Salaam, Aïwa
- PORTUGAL: X-Wife
- BOLIVIA: Surfin Wagner
- PALESTINE: CultureSHOC, Khalas
- TURKEY: Gooseflesh
- NEDERLANDS: Don Diablo, Marike Jager, a balladeer
- ARGENTINA: Entre Rios, Manosanta
- MEXICO: Mexican Institute Of Sound, Sussie 4, Hello Seahorse!
- CONGO: Kiala
- THAILAND: Cyndi Seui
- VENEZUELA: Kid 606, Fordelucs
- SINGAPUR: sonicbrat
- SWITZERLAND: Heidi Happy (feat. Paul Niehaus of Calexico), Low Motion Disco

So…have a look around. This is brand new, and whilst  have been testing it for a little while I’m sure I will have missed something – if you find any problems let me know.

-Tim (Editor)

So its the end of the year and the end of the decade and that means that you can’t move but for the lists of the best and worst of times. Saam from Faded Glamour had done the honourable thing and managed to convince a bunch of British bloggers (myself included) to share their favourite British albums of the last ten year, and then condensed our ramblings into a couple of lists.

First of all we’ve got the top 10 albums of the decade with all our thoughts compiled together

Then we’ve got all of our top 3s with a bit more of a description

If you want to know what really floats our boats then read on – some of the choices and justifications are fascinating.