The Dirty Dozen - August, 2008

Punk is all the rage - on the evidence of the first two singles this month anyway. The King Blues are a London act who project a renagade, guerilla-gigging image. Let's Hang The Landlord (1star, 4 Aug), however, is just punk caricature, with its talk of scratching tattoos with safety pins and living in a squat "forever without a care". The Vivians may owe their image to the Sex Pistols - and they have moved to London - but at least the Edinburgh band don't truly believe it's 1977. A Human Angle (2stars, Out Now) is a bit of a disappointment of a debut single though: as tight as their skinny jeans, but oddly generic for such an act.

Talking of generic rock, Biffy Clyro just can't hold back the plastic these days. No sooner have they turned their attentions from last year's Puzzle than they're flooding HMV again with free-standing single Mountains (2stars, 25 Aug). "I am a mountain, I am a sea," sings Simon Neil. Eh, never would have guessed it to look at you sir. The schlock don't stop with Feeder. They are one band who've happily lost any punk muscle under a layer of soft rock puppy fat. Tracing Lines (1star, 11 Aug) is another stultifying slice of meh. How do they get away with it? If you want a more authentic serving of the dark stuff, look no further than Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds. Midnight Man (3stars, Out Now) is another late-night, organ-soaked shadow play, but not one of the moustachioed one’s finest moments.

It's time to leave the badasses behind and step into the sunny glare of upbeat indie-pop. Sussex-based duo Les Valentine are a good place to start in this respect, but Nervous (2stars, 18 Aug) is like sub-standard Turin Brakes. And who remembers them? Maybe the same who remember Delays' debut album Faded Seaside Glamour, which promised much from this Southampton band. But Keep It Simple (2stars, 11 Aug) does exactly what it says on the sleeve: basic, easy-listening guitar pop. Red Light Company don't fare much better. Meccano (2stars, 11 Aug) is more rainy day rock than knobbly-kneed beach pop, but it merely takes the component parts of bands like Editors and British Sea Power and fails to add anything new. So can Bluetones man Mark Morriss brighten up this Scottish summer of a Dirty Dozen? He does at least provide sunny intervals with Lay Low (3stars, 11 Aug), a homely country-rocker that builds to a string-laden climax.

No sooner do we get the rays than some diva's reaching for her Gucci shades. Lights Out (3stars, 4 Aug), the latest offering from Brooklyn's polymorphous popster Santogold, is another case of album track posing as single: a hummable melody but ultimately unexciting. By now we're usually into four-star territory, so why do The Parlotones choose this moment to stick their oar in? They got a solitary star back in February and that's all they're getting now, with Here Comes The Man (1star, 18 Aug). Say no more: it's just bad. On cue, Nacional come to the rescue of a damp squib month with Telephone (4stars, 4 Aug). The latest signing to the Art/Goes/Pop label (who've also supported Scottish up-and-comers Popup, Isosceles and The Low Miffs) could do with the full producer treatment, but the raw ingredients are there for a great band - and single of the month.