BBC Kent review of the CD By Stephen Morris Mr Gig’s first volume of locally produced music hits the spot: it’s a step by step guide to all that is good in the Kent music scene. Local music (like all music) can be a bit of a minefield. For every brilliant artist you might find playing a music venue, for every gem of an EP you may find nestling in the racks of a record shop, you will be bound to come across countless bands and artists wallowing in a mire of mediocrity. Which is what makes Mr Gig’s first volume of locally produced music so great. It’s a step by step guide to all that is good in the Kent music scene. Across the 18 tracks, the styles vary from simple, but beautiful love songs (Damo’s "Did You Ever Know") through to satirical punk (Jester’s "Al Jazeera") right up to high octane rock ‘n’ roll (Jayded’s "Supernatural"). In between, there are bursts of ska and electronica. There’s something for everyone. So here, for your delectation, delight and other things beginning with the letter D, is a breakdown of Mr Gig’s Volume One – 18 Track Overture. 3dBs Down – Zoinks US Punk inspired act singing about boredom and the pursuit of a cure for the same. Standout lyric: "Watch a million strangers in their tins/doing the same thing today and tomorrow." The Maydays – Modern Love H Dropping Mockneys sing about monotonous relationships. Stand out lyric: "Though I’m boring, you’re adoring and I’m yours to the end." Romantic. Kind of. StanXa – Lazarus Intense rock with rolling pianos, distorted electrickery and a theme of war, death, misery and general entropy. Stand out lyric: "Some people think we’re destroying nature/but maybe nature’s destroying us." Amber Room – Portrait of a Serial Killer A macabre song (but you got that from the title) with a deceptively cheery Gomez meets Beta Band melody. Multi-levelled entertainment. Battleska Galactica – (Rock You Like a) Candy Cane Whether their name was conjoured up by a tabloid sub-editor is unknown. What I can tell you is that Battleska Galactica offer an energetic Latino Ska. Think Calexica meets Papa Roach meets Madness. You couldn’t make it up. Standout moment: the scorching trumpets. Control of Reason – Angel Bite Dan Erotica (interesting name) contributes a song of misery and despair. His glass isn’t just half-empty, it’s stone dry empty. Imagine Coldplay developing some soul and putting a bit of passion into their songs and you’re half way there. Jester – Al Jazeera A punky track (very Stiff Little Fingers) sung from the point of view of Osama Bin Laden. Possibly a musical first. Standout lyric: "I’ll pay my brothers to carry out my will/and then I’m off to the hideout in the hills." Stone Junction – The Prostitute Song Despite its title, Dan Erotica had nothing to do with the making of this song. If you liked Mansun’s "Taxloss", try this. Heavily distorted guitars crash and grind their way behind a berating vocal: "It’s the fear of falling that keeps you down". Dayfall – Messiah Dark electronica. Imagine a Devil worshipper’s convention with Soft Cell doing the music. Jayded – Supernatural Jayded can’t spell but they can definitely rock. Pounding drums, screeching totally-bogus-dude guitars and high octane vocals feature in this study of one person’s power over another. Excellent! Damo – Did You Ever Know If Dave Gilmour sang a medley of "Ain’t No Sunshine When She’s Gone" and "Why Don’t We Do it in the Road", it might sound a bit like this glorious blues-y number. The lyrics may seem a little sickly sweet, but put together with the music, it would melt any heart. Tallon – Life Power pop for the open road. It’s one of those "throw the rule book out of the window and let’s go off into the sunset" sort of songs - complete with air guitar solos. Tortilla Army – Broken Tortilla Army’s is a brand of metallic rock that begins with a bluesy bass and evolves into all out metallica. It makes you want to grow your hair long and find the nearest mosh pit. Features the rather self absorbed line: "You’re not sure what you wanna be/you wanna be me." The Mighty Hush - Where Have All the Good Songs Gone? If you thought it was just older people who longed for the past, think again. The punky Mighty Hush think that too. Like The Smiths twenty years ago, they blame DJs for making "my radio feel sick". Sounds like: a punk version of the "One Foot in the Grave" theme. SugarMilk – All I Hear is… SugarMilk don’t like being nagged. A lot. Chugging guitars and a sing-a-long chorus (you know the words: "Na, na-na na, na-na na-na na") accompany a sweary rant against bossy women. Liquid Fool – For all my Sad Friends Liquid Fool’s offering begins with a ridiculously fast drum beat before lunging into a glorious anthem to friendship. It’s a raunchy, gutsy, funky track made all the more interesting by the mysterious presence by the Flintstones tribute of "Yabadaba" half way through. Neroli – Bathed A beautiful acoustic song about denial sung from the bottom of a whisky glass. "She don’t care fore me, but that’s all right you see/because I don’t care for her/At least that’s what I tell her." They’re not fooling anyone. James Fairfoul- Pseudo Literate – the album ends with a song without words dedicated to Fairfoul’s ex-girlfriend. A bass line reverberates with a melody while guitars soar higher and higher over the top. At times it sounds like something by The Who, at others its pure Mike Oldfield. The result is an amazing rock symphony. Not bad considering it was produced on a PC! So there you have it. Eighteen reasons to be cheerful all loving compiled on a CD for your appreciation. Listen to it: love it (and you can always skip the tracks you don’t like).