THEY ARE
"New wave of britpop" trio who probably don't need much warming to idea of being the biggest Manchester band with a mouthy frontman called Liam.
SOUNDS LIKE
The Rolling Stones' Miss You made listenable by replacing the godawful falsetto squeals and the impotent funk with a chuggy disco stomp reminiscent of Blur's Girls & Boys or the chorus of Franz Ferdinand's Take Me Out.
RELEASE
You Overdid it Doll (single) Feb 15
Falcon Feb 22

THEY ARE
Britpop veterans kicking off their third decade as a band with their ninth album.
SOUNDS LIKE
the Northern Soul version of fellow Brummies Dodgy's blissful Good Enough.
RELEASE
Magic Carpet Days (single) Jan 25
Saturday Feb 1 (that's actually a Monday)

THEY ARE
Canadian collective fronted by husband and wife Olga Goreas and Jace Lasek.
SOUNDS LIKE
Spiritualized on a leash, blending shoegaze guitars, girl group vocals, understated horns and Beach Boys harmonies into a psychedelic pop soup.
RELEASE
Albatross (12") Feb 8
The Besnard Lakes Are the Roaring Night Mar 8
TRIVIA
Their upcoming album was mixed on a desk used for Led Zeppelin's Physical Graffiti.

THEY ARE
Danish pop quartet, whose debut single (yes, this one) came out last summer.
SOUNDS LIKE
the very definition of the often cited, yet somewhat curious MySpace genre "Melodramatic Popular Song".
RELEASE
The Looking Glass Jan 25
TRIVIA
Their record label, Crunchy Frog, took their name from an all-too-literally named chocolate in a Monty Python sketch.

THEY ARE
Northern Irish pop trio (yet again) with a penchant for astronomy and handclaps.
SOUNDS LIKE
a trendy tongue-in-cheek new-wave act from New York.
RELEASE
Space Shot (single) Jan 18
TRIVIA
This is number H (sic) in their series of 26 singles released every other week until September (with this player being updated accordingly (and alphabetically!)).

HE IS
the magnificently-named honey-voiced frontman of Guillemots.
SOUNDS LIKE
one of the epic pop symphonies from Guillemots' beautiful debut album Through the Windowpane, rather than their annoyingly noisy follow-up Red.
RELEASE
Fly Yellow Moon Jan 18

THEY ARE
(Another) Manchester outfit fusing melodic indie rock with electronics.
SOUNDS LIKE
a lost track from Cut Copy's terrific In Ghost Colours.
RELEASE
Acolyte Dec 11
CLEVER MOMENT
At 3:04 when the guitar burst into a simplistic Bernard Sumner-esque guitar solo, reminding you where these guys are from.

THEY ARE
likely lads from Liverpool with one single under their belt, on which it's the B-side that steals the show - a gloomy rocker that builds and builds until it reach epic heights.
SOUNDS LIKE
the hate child of Editors and Doves.
RELEASE
Stop to Start (single) 23 Nov
TRIVIA
The band has presumably taken their name from a song by eighties cult band (and fellow Scousers) The Pale Fountains.

THEY ARE
Texan folk oddballs finally ready to follow up their surprise hit album The Trials of Van Occupanther after three and a half years of silence.
SOUNDS LIKE
they've left the soft rock ship and aimed for the folky, at times proggy sounds of Pentangle, Fairport Convention. And they've seemed to have borrowed Ian Anderson's flute.
RELEASE
Acts of Man/Rulers, Ruling all things (single) Dec 14
The Courage of Others Feb 1  
CLEVER MOMENT
at 3:14, when the flute gives way to the band's trademark spine-chilling vocal harmonies.

THEY ARE
from Manchester. That's about all you need to know.
SOUNDS LIKE
big guitar rock of the eighties, like Echo & the Bunnymen, Simple Minds and perhaps more curiously, The Cult.
RELEASE
Outside (digital single) Dec 7

Happy new year everybody!

This site did not exactly thrive with life and updates the last forthnight of the decade, thanks to the hectic days of the holiday season. In return I hereby present my favourite albums of 2009 along with a player containing one track from each album - that has NOT featured on C11 through the year. Regular updates will be back to normal in just a sec. Stay tuned!

01 The Boxer Rebellion - Union
02 Red Light Company - Fine Fascination
03 White Lies - To Lose My Life
04 Doves - Kingdom of Rust
05 Telekinesis! - Telekinesis!
06 Jeremy Enigk - OK Bear
07 The Raveonettes - In and Out of Control
08 Alberta Cross - Broken Side of Time
09 The Appleseed Cast - Sagarmatha
10 The Mary Onettes - Islands
11 Superfamily - Guns Tonight