The Strokes – You Only Live Once – RCA
With more style than a flotilla of Mafioso in their double-breasted suits, “You Only Live Once” is one of the finest moments in the Strokes’ catalogue. It wasn’t for no reason that it was picked to lead off third album First Impressions of Earth, with it’s enticing guitars and classic crooned vocal delivery from Julian Casablancas. As an added bonus, the b-side is a cover of Marvin Gaye’s “Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology”, complete with Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder guesting on vocals and Queens of the Stone Age’s Josh Homme on guitar – it shouldn’t work, but somehow it does.

Weir – After the End (EP) – Independent
The second EP for this rising Sydney four-piece is stronger in every way than their debut. For starters, there’s the songs – the likes of “The Believer” and particularly the excellent pop smarts of “Could Be Right” stand out like a sore thumb in comparison with their predecessors. Weir have gone to another level with this EP, which can only bode well for the future. It helps that in Jess Beston they have a vocalist with a rare gift – she’s able to be delicate in her phrasing, as on “Could Be Right”, or menacingly aggressive, as on EP closer “Blinding”.

Bertie Blackman – Hold Me Close – Morph
As the first single from her forthcoming second album, “Hold Me Close” draws obvious comparison to the likes of PJ Harvey’s Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea. While she never cuts vocally loose as Polly Jean would on a cut like “The Letter” from the nastier Uh Huh Her, this Melbourne songstress. A hint of keyboard floats in at latter stages, and “Hold Me Close” is more immediate and direct than anything on Headway.

Bob Dylan – Someday Baby – Columbia
He may not have the voice from the 1960s or the 1970s any more, but as “Someday Baby” shows, Bob Dylan still knows how to write a song. There’s nothing fancy about this, but it’s nevertheless an instant charmer – it’s a simple blues structure, with appropriate electric guitar licks and a steady rhythm. Nothing fancy, but hardly nothing when you’re Bob Dylan.

Gnarls Barkley – Smiley Faces – Warner Bros.
Gnarls Barkley are taking over the world – rejoice! The combinations of Cee-Lo and Danger Mouse is a sure-fire winner. Debut single “Crazy” was inescapable for a while there, and “Smiley Faces” should follow suit. That the live version (as recorded as they performed on Later With Jools Holland) is EVEN BETTER than the studio cut just goes to show how damn exciting it is that the band will be touring Australia early in 2007. Should be a show well-worth attending.

The Vines – Anysound – EngineRoom/Capitol
After being in the doghouse for so long, it seems that opinions have finally turned around for the Vines – with a slew of live dates announced, their third album Vision Valley is finally getting the credit it undoubtedly deserves. Lead off with a classic Vines beat and the blood-curdling cry of “I am a Vine/All twisted and frayed”, “Anysound” is another example of how fine a pop songwriter Craig Nicholls can be. Over and done in under two minutes, it’s a classic slice of discordant pop genius. Joined by a slowed down country version of original hit “Get Free” and two demos of cuts that appeared on Vision Valley, “Anysound” could be the song to re-cement the Vines as a classic Australian rock ‘n roll band.

Go You Huskies! – Waking Up is Hard to Do – Popboomerang Records
Australian indie pop appears to be undergoing a renaissance – with Architecture in Helsinki doing good things overseas, the likes of Melbourne group Go You Huskies! are even more delightfully melodic if less wilfully obtuse. Lead cut “Waking Up is Hard to Do” is infused with handclaps and the sweet voice of CC Hua. On “Fear of Flying” she adds backing to Shayne Adam, before taking lead on the waltzing “Lights Down”, while on “Cubbyhouse” they trade vocals fairly effortlessly. Go You Huskies! sound more polished than many of their contemporaries, and the four cuts found on here bode well for the future.

Hard-Fi – Hard to Beat – Necessary Records/Atlantic
As fine a song as “Hard to Beat” is, there’s no doubt that the most interest in this single will be reserved for the b-side, when the band take the White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army” and do their spaced-out Specials thang to it. It comes up trumps, sounding like a white-boy quasi-reggae band doing a white-boy blues song. Ain’t there something just wrong with that? Nevertheless, Hard-Fi show on originals like “Hard to Beat” and “Stronger” that they’re a pretty good little band, with something interesting to offer that combines a number of different styles and most certainly has its own style.

Bob Evans – Nowhere Without You – Capitol
Aw, ain’t Bob Evans lovely? “Nowhere Without You” has something of the Brille Building songwriting sensibility to it, as strings, casio, vibes, supple bass and plonking piano all collide to make a charming lil’ number. Backed by a bare-bones b-side in the shape of “Another Year Gone” and a duet with touring buddy Josh Pyke on Lennon/McCartney classic “Two of Us”, this songwriting foil for Jebediah’s Kevin Mitchell has proved to be quite the winner.

Midnight Juggernauts – 45 & Rising – Siberia/Inertia
The second taster lifted from their Secrets of the Universe EP, Midnight Juggernauts second release, “45 & Rising” follows on nicely from “Shadows”, eliciting much the same feel of genuine excitement. There’s something about Midnight Juggernauts that sets them apart from contemporaries like the Presets or Cut Copy.

Wolfmother – Woman – Modular Recordings/UMA
Re-released in mega-produced format after their original demo essentially made up their debut EP, Wolfmother’s “Woman” is a rip-roaring, coke-snorting, diesel-fuelled slice of RAWK ‘n roll. It’s hard to take it seriously – it’s so ridiculously camp – but it’s great fun. Backed by a couple of remixes (from MSTRKRFT and the Avalanches) and a live cut of “Dimension”, it is to be hoped that “Woman” is the track that converts the great unwashed of the Midwest of America to Wolfmother’s undoubtedly straightforward and delirious charms.

The Living End – Nothing Lasts Forever – EMI
The most blatantly radio-friendly cut from the Living End’s fourth album State of Emergency, “Nothing Lasts Forever” perfectly encapsulates why the band’s fourth effort has found them atop the charts once more, selling out the biggest venues of their career. It’s a slow-builder in the verses, but then the chorus simply brings it alive, battering down the door to every fifteen year old’s rock ‘n roll heart with a great driving rhythm, plenty of energy, and great lyrics and guitar work from Chris Cheney. Not bad for a bunch of dudes who used to want to be the Fireballs, eh?

David Ford – State of the Union – Independiente/SonyBMG
David Ford had the beginnings of a musical career some years ago, before his band faded from view. He retired to his basement and crafted a strong solo debut, I Sincerely Apologise For All the Trouble I’ve Caused, of which “State of the Union” is one of the highlight tracks, with a vaguely political bent. But, mostly, it’s just a really strong song, with a memorable hook and an excellent chorus. Ford might not be the most original apple in the bunch – he wears his influences on his sleeve, proudly – but there’s something about him that sets him apart from many of his fellow emerging English singer-songwriters.

The Kooks – Naïve – Virgin
In a world where every major label has got to have ‘their Arctic Monkeys’ (who are, of course, on the independent Domino, and thus make more money than all the rest combined, probably), the Kooks are another on the rise. In Britain, they’re already nearly a household name thanks to the simple pop pleasures of the likes of “Naïve”. Blues b-side “I Love That Girl” bears a striking resemblances to someone like the 22-20’s, who lasted all of one album before splitting asunder. The Kooks showcase strong melodies on “Naïve” and their debut Inside In / Inside Out, boding well for the future.

Taking Back Sunday – Twenty-Twenty Surgery – Warner Bros.
Having fought like devils to get away from their former imprimatur of Victory Records, Taking Back Sunday did the logical thing and upped to a major label, subsequently releasing Louder Now. The only this is, as songs like “Twenty-Twenty Surgery” show, they’re still not sounding that different or louder – the formula was near identical as on breakthrough Where You Want to Be, which is fine as songs like this are strong and catchy, but not too different to what they were doing before. When Taking Back Sunday take the next leap in their sound is when they’re really going to become a great band.

Paris – Stars are Blind – Warner Bros.
Utilising a sample from, haha, UB40, Ms. Hilton’s debut single is…well, really, it’s not so bad. Hardly life-changing, but she shows no signs of not being able to carry a song, and really music like “Stars are Blind” have nothing to do with singing ability, but instead the way that the ‘singer’ presents them. Paris does a fine job here, cooing rather than over-singing, and the tune itself is perfectly catchy. Dagnabbit, it wasn’t supposed to be LIKEABLE!

James Blunt – High – Atlantic
The fifth (or is it sixth?) single taken from Mr. Bl(o)unt’s debut disc, “High” is another mid-tempo middle-of-the-road anthem to ordinariness. Should we blame (congratulate?) Coldplay for producing a succession of acts essentially ‘borrowing’ from their templated sound? Really, “High” is not too different to the namesake that American MOR songsmith Tal Bachman came up with a few years back – it’s naggingly familiar (in that it sounds like a song you already recognise) and quite catchy.

Paolo Nutini – Last Request – Warners
Currently earning rave reports in his native England, Paolo Nutini is already being tipped as being ‘the new James Blunt’. Sigh. Since when has something like that been a ringing endorsement? Yet based on “Last Request” the comparison is entirely justified – the song itself is a nicely mid-tempo slice of pleasantness. Perhaps we really are seeing a return to MOR 1970s-style songsmiths that are writing songs that are genuinely connecting with the masses, with Blunt’s success sure to be chased with a host of similar artists.

Butterfingers – Like ‘Em When They’re Trouble – Valley Trash Records/Mushroom
Butterfingers have been lumped into the ‘Australian hip-hop’ scene that’s currently all the rage. While the sense of humour displayed on “Like ‘Em When They’re Trouble” is most certainly Australian, with frontman Eddie Jacobsen’s rhymes are delivered with a staunchly Oztrayan accent, there’s something more rock-hop to this than strictly standard hip-hop fare. The acoustic guitar is the focus instrument behind Jacobsen, and “Like ‘Em When They’re Trouble” is a good example of why Butterfingers are one of the more approachable acts currently being involved in the Australian hip-hop scene, with pop structures and strong choruses given over in lieu of supreme rhyming skillz.

The Veronicas – Revolution – EngineRoom/Sire
The cutest twins currently making music (and possibly the cutest ever…Bros just weren’t this attractive), Brisbane two-piece the Veronicas have gone from strength-to-strength since unleashing their The Secret Life of... debut amidst a swathe of hype. “Revolution” is likely to be the last single lifted from it, and is another typically up-beat pop-rock number akin to Kelly Clarkson circa “Walk Away” or the Avril Lavigne of “Sk8er Boi” colliding into each other at the skate-park. Penned by Raina Maida (for, yes, the Veronicas are as carefully crafted as any other pop moppets) from Canadian has-beens Our Lady Peace, “Revolution” is in reality about as innovative as peanut butter and jam…but it’s still a catchy tune.

Avenged Sevenfold – Seize the Day – Warner Bros.
If Guns ‘n Roses ever do make their long-awaited comeback (and if Chinese Democracy is actually any good), who knows where it’s going to position groups like Avenged Sevenfold, who on “Seize the Day” unleash a metal ballad of “November Rain” proportions. Except, y’know, it just ain’t as good. Not even close.