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Shard 'Wished and then Kissed' self-release
It would be far too easy to pigeonhole this five-piece as a glammy, Gothy rock band, and far too wrong. The first and fourth tracks might use that thin-sounding guitar much loved by the Cure to create a chilling atmosphere of urban unrest, but what sort of stereotypical Goth band records rehearsal room laughter? Shard are having too much fun in their well-crafted explorations (despite what might be suggested by the kind of voice that's been described as 'whiny'). 'The Modern Way to Madness' also has a great stop-start rhythm that almost sounds ska to me, and a glorious chaos of weird synth noises in background. 'Near' has a similar sort of electronic mood to recent Radiohead (but, obviously, on a much tighter budget!). The style of quiet/loud dynamics in 'Daytime in Leatherlime' makes me think of Slint if they met a nice girl and watched violent cartoons together. Others might suggest someone like the Deftones with a much prettier voice. The right words for this sort of music, then, must just be dark pop, where pop is the best thing to be: an unashamed reworking of all kinds of styles to produce something new. It's so fresh it should come in aerosol form.

They already sell their own make-up besides badges and shirts: www.shardmusic.co.uk or send £4.50 per CD to Laurence Renney, 146 Bearton Rd, Hitchin, Herts, SG5 1UB.