First cuts: Inuendo, Steve O'Neill, The Unsuspecting Public, Timpado

According to Verona of Clones, Inuendo from Donegal are “quite fantastic”, and she goes to see them play live every week. Having seen them perform with style and panache in the final of the Premier Band Challenge in the Downhill Hotel in Ballina recently, I can certainly concur that the trio kick up a storm with their quirky post-punk approach and their punchy songs. Unfortunately, their demo misses some of the fire of their live gigs, with ‘Confuzed’ coming across like a pastiche of other bands, including their Donegal countymates The Revs. ‘1/2 Past Midnite’ is a more subtle, less frenetic affair, and showcases a band working hard to establish their own identity. They deserve to be exposed to a broader audience and that’s where we come in. That ok with you, Verona?

From Paris comes a CD demo from Steve O’Neill, a singer-songwriter from Cork who plys his trade along the border between Indie and mainstream. His gently balladic ‘Girl Trouble’ is dressed up with a tasty trumpet and girly vocals, with jazzy touches that wouldn’t be out of place on a Beautiful South album. ‘Just In Time’ is more up-tempo and hints at Crowded House, but it might benefit from some additional production values to spark more interest. ‘Missing Your Face’ is gentler still and could be a real killer live. The guitar intro draws you in before O’Neill’s vocals take you on a trip through his romantic past. Given the current explosion of solo singer-songwriter acts here at home, O’Neill will have to get a move on. He might not miss the bus, but he may have to battle to get a seat.

With titles like ‘Cum When You Cum’, ‘Cafe Necrofilia’ and ‘Wasted So Ferociously Stoned’, The Unsuspecting Public will probably not be playing at a folk mass anywhere near you in the forseeable future. They’re essentially three hopeless cases from Sligo, much addled by ingesting too much psychedelic surf, progressive blues rock, punk pop and who knows what else. If they have faults, it’s mainly that their cheesy but limited boogaloo riffs echo work from decades ago, with track two at times sounding like a mere reworking of track one. All great fun of course and unlikely to change the course of history, but a welcome alternative to Mickey Joe Harte and Louis Walsh’s weapons of mass distraction.

Timpada is a folk-based troubadour from the old school who isn’t half as eccentric as he thinks he is. But ‘Barbed Wire Heart’ has a special appeal. The song’s jaunty rhythm is somewhat at odds with its downbeat lyrics, but its graphic imagery allied to Timpado’s earnest vocal delivery make you wonder how it might develop with some additional studio enhancement. We’ll soon see, as I’m making it my song of the fortnight.