SIN SIN are a dance-oriented group from Dublin whose music combines drum beats, samples, keyboards and female vocals. This is a three song demo called Simplicimus and the first song ‘Blue Blood’ with its haughty non-committal vocals is reminiscent of Blondie. It’s out there but it’s in there.

Next up is ‘Voices On The Radio’. Once again we have a fascinating soundscape of samples and bassy keyboards overlaid by an eastern sounding floating melody. With a bigger production budget I would imagine a cross between US3, Jah Wobble and Dee Lite. The final track ‘Power’ is a little weaker than the previous two but the instrumental breaks are still high on imagination and jazzy groovy feel. All in all a truly inspired and dancey demo from Sin Sin.

The Garden Party are a five-piece group from Mullingar, Co. Westmeath. They have gigged extensively and had a track included on the ‘100% Irish’ compilation. Recently there have been some personnel changes in the group and this three-track demo is the first fruit of the new line-up. The tape opens with ‘Hidden Agenda’ – a mid-tempo rocker. The sound is big with prominent drums, sweeping keyboards, acoustic strums and wah-wah guitar breaks. The lead vocalist Mick has a fine voice and carries the melody well. ‘Smashing Mirrors’ is next and is much more up-tempo. Pounding bass, keyboard strings and a great melody combine to form an excellent, although very short, song. ‘So Stay There’ rounds things up very nicely. Piano arpeggios and washes of guitar wrap around another very strong melody line. Very promising big sound pop music from The Garden Party.

Barbed Wire Love are a five-piece rock group from Tipperary who present us with a four song tape. ‘Slipping Away’ is the first of these and it bursts in energetically. The sound is tight and heavy and it harks back to late ’70s’, early ’80’s rock music. Lead vocalist Tim Tuohy has a big ragged bluesy voice which fits very well with the retro rock feel. Denis Mulcahy on percussion, the twin rhythm and lead and bass from Fletch. Next is ‘Shotgun’, a big riffy beat with great melody and extremely catchy chorus. The playing is excellent, especially Alan Will’s guitar work and it’s all held down by a tight rhythm section. ‘Celtic Twilight’ brings things to a close and as the title suggests it’s a Thin Lizzy-like rocker. Barbed Wire Love are a very good rock group but as I’m sure they know the competition is fierce out there. However, they have a great singer, very strong players and a good way with a melody, so hard work and talent may very well bring them further.

Finally we have Jekyll, a five-piece rock-dance crossover group from Dublin who are Rock (lead vocals and guitar), Duffy (bass and vocals) Burns (drums), Emmet (guitar and vocals) and Weissenmayer (keyboards).

‘World Receiver’ is the first of three songs on this, their first demo. The band get a lovely groove going here with a sinuous bass line and a very catchy little guitar riff.

‘Jinnyjos’ is a great skanky upbeat song which vaguely recalls some of the Clash’s reggae outings. Rock again has no problem with a good melody and the call/response backing vocals are great. The playing is tight but it never loses its feel. The keyboards are well worth a mention here, providing as they do both rhythm and atmosphere.

‘Picture Show’ is the final song and yes, it’s another cracker. Duffy’s bass playing is excellent, grooving its way through the track while the guitars and keyboards slide around it. Jekyll are a relatively new group, but their playing is tight and assured and on this evidence you can expect to hear more from them.