"The moments that passed while we worked the river were neither brief nor long, were in fact somehow removed from the very restriction or notion of time - we were outside of time, is how it felt to me". So speaks the enigmatic Eli Sisters, and so is the lasting effect of Patrick deWitt's Man Booker shortlisted The Sisters Brothers.

I’m a bit fed up with all this snow malarkey; to be honest it’s only fun if you’re a kid or a stressed out teacher hoping for a sneaky day off, so what I need is some heart warming music to listen to whilst sitting by the fire and sipping on mulled wine. Thankfully DEMONS AND DOUBTERS, a 5 track EP by singer songwriter Ian Parker has arrived to help me with my cold winter nights, now all I need is a dog to stroke and some fluffy slippers.

This Bath five-piece has received rave reviews in The Clash (where ‘Burst It’s Banks’ was single of the month), The List and even BBC Newsbeat, and now they’re getting one here.On first receiving the album through the post, I was somewhat deceived by their youth and relative fresh-faced countenance.  Within seconds of opening track ‘Heaven Never Seemed So Close’ kicking in, I was sold. 

Listening to Kill It Kid for the very first time conjures up images of some deep south Americana outfit, all toothless grins and whisky soaked heartbreak, you'd imagine this band to hail from some backwater town down by the Mississippi. So learning that Kill It Kid are a bunch of fresh faced youngsters from Bath comes as something of a shock, the heady mixture of Tom Waits, Seasick Steve, Allison Krauss and Robert Johnson influences at the very least giving this outfit a fresh sounding musical take in 2009.