Once again from the north of Ireland, we have The Id. The line up has swelled a little and now comprises Carl Papenfus on drums, Kenneth Papenfus on guitar, Tony Brady on keyboards, Brendan Kelly on vocals and Darren Campbell on bass. This, their Demo ‘94, consists of three songs and it kicks off in fine style with the aptly titled ‘It Only Gets Better’. Coming in on a heavy funk/rock drive, the verse leads headlong into one of the catchiest choruses I’ve heard in a while. The vocal harmonies are excellent and the melody is a winner. Their playing is hard and exceptionally tight — The Id have certainly got their act together. ‘They Come and Go’ has a slinkier groove which recalls Led Zep at their sultriest. The guitar line slides effortlessly from frantic riffing to big lazy power chords. Another strong vocal melody and again nicely layered backing vocals all add up to a potent showcase track. ‘This Love’ blends Faith No More’s ‘Drive’ with the Chili Pepper’s ‘Looseness’. The strong melody and Kelly’s rasping vocals puncture the solid groove convincingly and with another killer chorus, they put their Demo ’94 to sleep gloriously.

The Compromise are a four piece, guitar, pop/rock group from Dublin and have appeared in the Rose of Tralee festival on The Gig Rig. This is a two song demo which opens with ‘The Light House’. This song has a strange feel to it which reminded me of early Bauhaus. Its a slow broody song, with a very metallic sounding guitar line running through it. Lead singer, Holly’s voice has that same deep, slurry quality for which Peter Murphy was well known. Depending on your musical taste, this will sound either hopelessly dated, or startlingly new! ‘Life’ is a more up tempo track — unfortunate for the drummer who could do with some more practice. The song itself is quite catchy with its manic vocal line and nice interplay between the bass and guitar. All in all it’s a little shaky but everyone has to start somewhere.

Missus Pippins are a guitar driven group from Dublin and this is their three song tape. ‘Mirror’ is a slow bluesy number which features some lovely guitar playing and heartfelt vocals. ‘Riding’ picks up the pace and rocks along effortlessly. The playing is very well executed and although a little more thought could have gone into the vocal melody, it’s not a bad song at all. ‘Little White Slave Girl’ closes the tape in a funky vein. The falsetto chorus is extremely catchy and along with its laid back funkiness, makes it my favourite of the three. Interesting, if uneven in places, stuff from Missus Pippins.

Ann Marie Montade is a 23 year old singer/songwriter/guitarist from Dublin. She has been writing and recording her own material since she was 12 and has a wealth of live experience, including a stint in America, under her belt. She has a wonderfully deep, expressive voice, a keen ear for a melody and a good way with a lyric. So where’s the catch I hear you scream! Well there is none, as far as I can hear. This nine song collection goes from pop to country rock to full headlong rock. I don’t like to make comparisons but I would say Ann Marie is somewhere between early Linda Ronstadt and what Eleanor McEvoy is doing now. My personal favourites would be ‘Favourite Girl’, ‘I Love Your Boyfriend’ (definitely a hit if done in a more country vein), ‘Run To Your Side’ and the rockin‘ ‘Ramblin’. She might consider fleshing out the arrangements with added instrumentation but otherwise there isn’t a duff track in sight and we’ll undoubtedly be hearing more of Ann Marie in the future.

Finally for this issue we have Mind Mells, a nine group, 15 track compilation from the Shannon Youth Service Council. The groups are all young local bands and the music is great. It opens with Duvet and ‘Come Down Feeler’ which is a striking piece reminiscent of Sonic Youth circa ‘Daydream Nation’. Fade give us ‘Angel’, a really catchy rock track with some smashing twin lead guitar work and later on ‘Fly’ — another fine song. Mind Ryot have a contemporary rock sound not unlike Megadeth and acquit themselves well on ‘World Insane’ and ‘Free Rush’. The other groups involved are Breach, Bounder, Pulse, Waterhole, Barefoot Party and Wag, who all contribute at least one track to this fine effort. Mind Mells is being used as a fund raiser for the equipping of Park Hall and at only £2·50, for so much music, it’s a steal. If you are interested you can get the tape from the Shannon Youth Office, Kincora, Shannon, Co. Clare. And could I just take this opportunity to suggest to bands sending in their work, to please send in a full press package, photo, info etc. etc. Contrary to popular belief, I’m not a mind reader! Thank you!

Don’t forget to tune into the City Limits Youth Affairs show on Anna Livia Radio, 103·8 FM, Dublin, this Saturday (and every other!) from 10am-12 noon for the complete low-down.