Paul Brazier/Slumbering
Fly
OK, so (in a way) I'm cheating with a twofer here - two of the most exciting artists on MacIdol get together in a beautifully inspired duo. The fact that Mr Brazier pops out for a drink at the beginning of the song and leaves Slumbering warbling on seemingly oblivious to his absence is especially sweet. Typically elliptical work from the real-time drums enigma and wildly cascading guitars combine with two fantastic vocal performances to make this a giddy, booze-fuelled piece of psychedelia that would eat the indie charts alive if released commercially.
Maggie Osterberg
Goin' To A Party (ITMS link. You'll have to buy this one now, and rightly so)
MacIdol's "mumsy Keith Richards" gatecrashes The Factory and gives the Velvets a run for their money. The woman who (supposedly) can't do drums kicks in with a thunderous Mo Tucker rumble before hitting the speakers with a dense wall of sound that makes you want to point at The Jesus And Mary Chain and
laugh. A rare treat this - a song that wears its influences on its sleeve yet still manages to be unmistakably recognisable as belonging to the artist. Great bass work, perfectly layered backing vocals, and swampy as all hell. Listen to every nanosecond: this one is over before you know it. Blimey - is that man Brazier there again? What a musical
slut.
Stuart Walker (aka Gumbo)
Haunted By Their Dreams
The man who regularly competes with me for the title of "daftest bloke in the MacIdol forums" shocked me with the depth and rootsiness of this marvel. When it was likened to Led Zep by Rich, he wasn't far wrong. To add to this, Rich said "Songs like this make me do this thang." If Stu didn't feel the warmest glow of pride at this point, he should have done - because the belief that someone would produce such a piece of virtuosity from outside the system gave us the best place to post our music on the internet. Bar none. Take a bow, Mr Walker.