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NUMBER 5

Getting excited yet? Oh, you switched off. Come back! Come back!

Kristin Hersh is just amazing - everything she touches has a touch of genius about it, and 50 Foot Wave are no exception. Last year's self-titled mini was the most ferocious thing she's ever done and Golden Ocean gets to expand on that even further - tracks like 'Sally Is A Girl' give the album room to breath, the occasional step back from the frenetic pace of 'Clara Bow' or 'Long Painting'. Live they blow the competition out of the water, putting on a punk rock show that would frighten the life out of Sick Of It All, let alone grotty little upstarts like McFly or what have you.

I think FFW still count as a new band, which makes them the most vital and essential new band you'll hear all year, if not the best new band you'll have heard for several years. It's cheating a little bit, I suppose, given that Kristin has been making extraordinary music since the early 80's, but at the same time FFW have something about them which, while bearing certain Hersh trademarks, is completely different to what's gone before.
Special mention should go to drummer Rob Ahlers and bassist Bernard Georges who pack a punch into the rhythm section thats not seen so often these days. The sympathetic production helps a whole load as well, and what you get out the other end is a frighteningly good album, ferocious and cute in turns.

Have a listen for yourselves, this is 'Long Painting': http://s46.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=38OT8GR6A8F8Z2ISXOJWVPMUX1