By rights, Painted By Numbers should be the prime track of the day. Or, better still, all of the tracks on The Sounds’ second album Dying to Say This to You, should be. allmusic included this album in their lengthy lists of best albums released in the first half of 2006. Quite correctly, their review includes the following words:

• Hooky
• Compelling
• Sassy
• Synthesizers
• Spunky
• Fun

Here’s one they don’t mention: Blondie.

drinkme’s single is a zinging collision of punk and post-britpop noughtiness. Their website could do with a bit of a going over. Some advice:

• don’t use frames in a page
• don’t stuff all of your news into one frame
• have proper links to iTunes, like this one.

drinkme need a new website, migrating all content into a blog format. This would allow the news to be properly titled, dated, organised and navigable. Indeed many other sections of their website could adopt a similar format – like the lyrics and recordings sections.

I’ll do it, just contact me.

The Guardian would have you believe that this Welsh band (3 boys, 2 girls) are the new Pulp. Another comparison that’s wildly wrong. The Hot Puppies are skewed American country, with seasick melodies.

Their debut album, Under the Crooked Moon, is out next Monday, July 24.

The Hot Puppies Myspace page.

I try not to be bigoted when listening to music. It’s been a long struggle, breaking out of this trait that was indoctrinated in me due to peer-pressure whilst at University. I think throwing a Danielle Dax tape at one of my first-year housemates helped start the process of become publicly open-minded. But, get this, I don’t own any of Christina Aguilera’s music..

This single has been doing the rounds for a couple of weeks, prior to its scheduled release next week (although it’s been on iTunes for ages). It precedes her new album, Back to Basics, released in August 2006. An album that appears to be inspired by 2004’s sparky duet with Nelly, Tilt Ya Head Back.

I’ll admit, I didn’t like Ain’t No Other Man when I heard it the first, oh, dozen times. The horns on it appeared to be overused. But yesterday I suddenly realised it’s brilliance, because the backing track for the song is almost non-existent. The horns provide a critical musical hook for the chord changes, without which Christina’s vocals wouldn’t work. Essentially, her vocals provide both the music and the lyrics. Everything else in the song just supports and pushes everything forward.

I’m still not sure about the ever-so-eighties break in the middle, mind.

Take the core of the shoegazing 90’s, follow it down a country lane and introduce it to rock music. That’s the sound of Howling Bells. This Australian band recently released what will be my debut of the year.