When Will I Be Famous: Delays, Barfly, London <br></br>Ambulance, Barfly<br></br>Radio Vago Mean Fiddler, London<br></br>Minus, Barfly, Logh Dublin Castle, London

Galumphing Hampshire lads who inexplicably sport matching sweaters, the Delays whiff of "Battle of the bands: regional heat winners". But their single "Nearer Than Heaven" is a radio treat with its soaring chorus in the best tradition of the British pop that everyone likes but no one buys. None of their other tunes get near, as they clumsily attempt every Nineties style without ever finding their own, though singer Greg Gilbert has a fine and versatile voice.

New York's Ambulance sit outside the city's current fashion for jerky dance-rock. They're a more measured, traditional outfit, rarely exciting, occasionally even bland, and sometimes positively schizophrenic. (Limp faux-reggae beats? Pur-lease!) But their best tunes, featured on a current EP that has been warmly received, manage to evoke the better moments of Badly Drawn Boy. You will hear more of them, probably while stuck in a traffic jam.

Radio Vago (pictured) were voted best new band by readers of their local listings mag, the LA Weekly, which may come as a shock to tonight's victims of their relentlessly tuneless meanderings. The five women responsible appear to have met in the dorm of a liberal arts college, but, judging by Adrienne Pearson's, er, melodically challenged vocal technique, we can assume that music wasn't on the curriculum.They are goths. Oddly, their records are far better than this drab performance.

Minus have been around for a couple of albums, but the hardcore antics of their audiences saw them bumped off the prestigious Icelandic circuit. Blessed with a great drummer and a greater name (pronounced "me-noose") they're currently attempting to establish themselves as a viable rock act, "the Icelandic Queens of the Stone Age", according to a friend. They're not that good, but their singer wears leather kecks and a leopardskin shirt, they have a song called "The Boys of Winter" and forthcoming album Halldor Laxness (named after a Nobel prize-winning author,) is appealing.

Once LOG, then Log, and now Logh (which could be pronounced "Low", like everyone's favourite American slowcore band), these four Swedes produced a stoner's choice in last year's debut album, Every Time a Bell Rings an Angel Gets His Wings, just reissued here. But their well-judged set proves there's more to them than mere introversion. Current single "Ghosts" is a Peel favourite, while their restrained dynamic shows real promise for their next record. They won't change your life, but they might enhance it, subtly.

Register for free to continue reading

Registration is a free and easy way to support our truly independent journalism

By registering, you will also enjoy limited access to Premium articles, exclusive newsletters, commenting, and virtual events with our leading journalists

Please enter a valid email
Please enter a valid email
Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number
Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number
Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number
Please enter your first name
Special characters aren’t allowed
Please enter a name between 1 and 40 characters
Please enter your last name
Special characters aren’t allowed
Please enter a name between 1 and 40 characters
You must be over 18 years old to register
You must be over 18 years old to register
Opt-out-policy
You can opt-out at any time by signing in to your account to manage your preferences. Each email has a link to unsubscribe.

By clicking ‘Create my account’ you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use, Cookie policy and Privacy notice.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy policy and Terms of service apply.

Already have an account? sign in

By clicking ‘Register’ you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use, Cookie policy and Privacy notice.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy policy and Terms of service apply.

Register for free to continue reading

Registration is a free and easy way to support our truly independent journalism

By registering, you will also enjoy limited access to Premium articles, exclusive newsletters, commenting, and virtual events with our leading journalists

Already have an account? sign in

By clicking ‘Register’ you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use, Cookie policy and Privacy notice.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy policy and Terms of service apply.

Join our new commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in