Inspired by the musings of the Greek philosopher that shares their name (sort of) Cork’s PlaytOh follow their excellent single ‘Closer’ with the album Fountain Two AM on June 10. The band [pictured] have completed more than 40 live shows in the last three months including their high-profile support slot to Ocean Colour Scene at their recent Ambassador show.

Another June album which is a must for any self-respecting music fan is the Other Voices 3 album (out June 3) – A splendid mix of home grown and international talent.

One gem on the CD is a live version of 'GoGo (Don’t Go)' by The Chalets. The band have contributed to some high-profile soundtracks lately, including the new Owen Wilson film The Wedding Crashers and the song 'Kiss Chasing' featured on the soundtrack to new Irish feature film Boy Eats Girl. You can catch them live at their biggest headline show to date in Dublin’s Vicar Street (with Special Guests Art Brut and The Rakes) as part of the Budrising Festival on June 3. The band’s 3rd single, 'Feel The Machine'(Setanta), will be released on June 3 with their début album, Check-In (Setanta) scheduled for release in August.

On the subject of debut albums, Nigel Mooney releases his, entitled, All My Love’s In Vain, on June 10. You may have already heard the lead single 'Beautiful Day' on the airwaves, check What's On for tour dates.

On another net-related note, watch out for new sites from Manakin and Red Organ Serpent Sound. On the Manakin site, www.manakinmusic.com, you can find all the band’s songs available for free download, biog, pics and the usual stuff! ROSS have created their new web home at www.redorganserpentsound.com, check it out for news, sounds, tour news etc.

News now from another crew fond of a lengthy moniker; Dead Girls and Boys, are in discussions with two managers at the moment. One attended their recent storming performance in Eamon Doran's, while there was also some A&R presence from two UK indie labels. The EP, provisionally titled Swedish Head is still being mixed.

Fellow Dubs The Reverb will be temporarily relocating to the US for the summer to gig and record. The band will be based in Southern California where they’ll be recording tracks for a single release this autumn. They will also be playing gigs in California, Las Vegas, New York, Boston and Baltimore with a few more cities in the pipeline.

Recent arrivals in Galway Choice (Belfast girl Clare Forrester on guitar/vocals and Briton Paul Mircham on percussion) have begun to make quite a stir. The acoustic group gigged extensively throughout Australia and New Zealand before settling in the City of the Tribes. Since arriving they have set up a fortnightly acoustic night for local acts at Massimo’s Bar called The Listening Lounge. They also recently played support to actor Adrian Dunbar and his band The Jonas at King’s Head, Belfast. Ones to watch for sure!