11

Wash your ears out with 'Soap in a Bathtub'

Stoney is the brainchild of the one-man music unit Mark Stoney. He crafts songs that hop from big guitar electric noise to melodic Beatles-esque beauty. 'Soap in a Bathtub' bears an uncanny resemblance to Kid Carpet's 'Your Love' with references to "your love" at the end of every line in the first verse of the song, sang in a very similar way. The instrumentation is also quite alike, but comes across in a more mature and structurally apt style, an Adult Carpet sort of sound.

The song is gorgeous, full to the brim with whacking bursts of sound, a barrage of big sweaty guitars and fairly heavy drums that all dissolves into a sweetly melodic chorus. This man can write songs, and the B-sides back this statement entirely. 'Bring Your Cup' is very strong and reeks of dedicated musicianship and 'Where You Are' really brings the biscuit home, it's pure magic in four minutes. A dreamy little acoustic piece with a lovely cello backing, a real subtle joy.

Mark Stoney, playing all the instruments (bar the drums) himself on his recordings, proves completely with this sexy little single that he's got what it takes to bash out some killer tunes that easily kick the saggy ass of some of the rubbish that's filling today's sagging scene. A welcome single from a man that can.