Manic Street Preachers - Send Away The Tigers: Over a decade removed from their masterpiece Everything Must Go, the Manics seem to finally return to the stadium-rock sounds of that album on Send Away The Tigers. While not as strong as Everything, the new album has several bright spots, most notably the so-cheesy-it's-awesome duet "Your Love Alone Is Not Enough" with The Cardigans' Nina Persson. While there are some awfully clunky lyrics ("I'm just a patsy for your love..."), and an occasional guitar line that sounds way too much like "Sweet Child O' Mine", this is a return to what the Manics do best: talking personal politics and rocking some Welsh angst. It's what Muse might hope to sound like if they weren't writing about spaceships and the apocalypse and such. more ›

The BBC calls The Hot Puppies a "spiky girl-pop band hiding sharp talons and sardonic wit beneath their cool, Blondie-style new wave exterior." They have also won effusive praise from critics at The Guardian, who want The Hot Puppies to be "the next big thing." After six years together, the band signed to Fierce Panda and released their debut album Under The Crooked Moon in mid-2006. The confident and powerful Radio One Sessions tracks... more ›