For all the talk of how the new media – blogs and all that stuff – is going to rescue the music industry from the ginormous hole it’s found itself in, there’s nothing quite like a good bit of hype in the print media to get things going. I get an email from a PR bloke pointing me in the direction of a new band, Brother, hailing from Slough (of all places). As I am utterly hopeless, this got completely ignored.

Next thing I know they are on the cover of the Grauniad’s Film and Music section (Note: this band have not released any records yet). A little voice said “Didn’t you read that nice chap’s email the other day? Better get hunting through your inbox, old chap.”. So here we are; I post something because it’s been in the paper rather than some poor, hardworking PR’s efforts. Ok, that’s not strictly true – I would have ignored the article if I hadn’t had the email to start with.

Amusingly enough, the article in the Grauniad made a comment about how the band didn’t even have a MySpace site. Yes, that’s because MySpace is increasingly ignored as it’s a. full of irritating kids and b. annoying. Soundcloud is where it’s at, bitches. So here, to help all those people who can’t find anything online about Brother, is the Brother Soundcloud.

And yes, they sound a bit like Oasis. And a bit like many other snotty-nosed bands from the British Isles since The Who onward. Possibly the La’s are the closest reference point for me. This is not a bad thing. Anyway, I’m rubbish at knowing what’s going to be successful. Yes, I championed The Xx in their early days (I did, you know), but most of the new bands I’ve posted here have gone on to do very little success. Even the one I thought was a sure-fire hit, Freelance Whales, got spanked by Pitchfork (and not in a good way).

Maybe this lot will be more Xx than Bullets In Madison. Good luck to them; they’ve got the attitude, some good tunes, and an interesting line in introductory videos. Give them a try.

Time Machine by BROTHERslough