Scene/Unheard Vol. 1 [Vinyl/Destination Records], Best Of Irish Unsigned [Gigsmart]

Scene/Unheard features 18 bands covering diverse genres, plus a bonus CD of over four hours of music and computer stuff that, at €10, makes it way cheaper than downloading. But that diversity might be a turn-off for would-be purchasers who may not fancy the limp-pop of Jade’s ‘Beautiful Thing’ alongside the cod-Nirvana of Label’s ‘Wish Song’, or the seductive dance-pop of Sheila Babikian’s ‘I Found Love’ jostling with the mighty Aurel’s ‘Cedar’.

But it’s worth persevering, especially when you get to gems like ‘Little Devil’ by Lucas, enhanced by Pete Holidai’s production or The Answer’s sublime ‘Always’. In this context, The Sutras’ ‘Believe’ owes too much to U2 to be healthy, but ‘After Midnight’ by Blowing Up The World suggests what might have happened if Hendrix had joined Thin Lizzy. Other gems include the sassy ‘Four On The Floor’ from Pharaoh House Crash, and the solid harmony-rock of the Dermot Lambert-produced ‘We’re Alright’ by North Horizon.

Best Of Irish Unsigned has 19 tracks and is more sharply focused. ‘Deep Inside’ by Ginseng takes the blues/raw rock energy of Rory Gallagher right up to eleven. Sundogs’ ‘U Want It’ delivers with panache, spoiled only by the singer’s fake accent, while the restraint of ‘Land Of Hope’ by Nassau demands repeat hearings.

The Murder Of Crows make a lot of noise about very little, as do The 8th Day. Not so the raw Pinion, whose ‘40%’ careers about with such abandon it should bring a smile to the most morose countenance. Laminate have a more urgent, contemporary edge, and Popstar not only have a fine song in ‘Great Expectations’ but chords to fit most stadia. Elsewhere ‘5 Second Heaven’ from Mike Got Spiked gives good heavy reggae, but the Me In The Park track could have the vocals more upfront. Also, Obsolete are intriguingly quirky, Pier 19 bring sombre balladry to the table and the promising Polar dish up some inventive soundscape.

Both these albums serve a valuable purpose in giving new bands a vehicle to be heard, but more attention in the quality control departments would stop the true gems suffering in the presence of the merely mundane. One more thing. Are keyboard players now threatened with extinction?