Emmett and Mary: The American Deirdres

Now, if that title doesn't put a few of you off, then nothing will. Fact is, my beloved Deirdres are no more, of course. And whilst it's hardly like looking for the new Smiths, it'd be quite nice to find a band influenced by those clowns from Derby.

I doubt whether Emmett and Mary have even heard of Derby in the UK, never mind The Deirdres, but the two bands share a ramshackle sense of pop music that fair warms these cockles. At the last count, over 30 people had contributed to the Emmett and Mary's forthcoming album, 'S/T', which will be on My Idea of Fun records. They call it a bedroom rock opera, which makes it sound like it was done by a onanist Rick Wakeman fan. It's far from that; the songs I've heard exude a warmth and love that, if I didn't have my shorts on already, make me want to strip off a few layers and run through a cornfield, or something. But then I have to think about those pesticides...

My favourite is 'Surveying Revelations'. See what you think.