http://www.efestivals.co.uk/lineups/lineups.pl?hits_seen=40&search=GO&Bandname=&FestID=200

Back to the Nick thing: I recently downloaded 'lost broadcast' from audiogalaxy. It lasts for 3min 39sec. I then went to the faultline site: www.faultline.co.uk If you follow it through, i went for the "lo-fi" option (no flashy stuff on this pc), then clicked "Music", then "< 10 Lost Broadcast". Then theres an amazing bit of info about nick and his involvement on the record. The actual text sounds fairly autobiographical, straight from David Korsten.

The highlight for me is where he says:

"It was great seeing Nick do his stuff, he's into these ancient tape echoes and loops of sound which crash around and filter away as new layers get added."

Also, this is great:

"With Nick we spent most of the day recording different sounds and atmospheres - there's loads of stuff I hope will surface later this year or next, some beautiful textures he made."

The Shining

Being in a band is "the best job in the world", Duncan Baxter declares excitedly. "It's better than being an astronaut or a racing driver because soon you're going to be able to pay 70 grand and go into space anyway and you'll be able to buy your own Formula 1 car."

If the 22-year-old Blackpool zest machine and rock Adonis sounds confident about the bankability of The Shining, it's understandable. Two of his fellow Shiners - bassist Simon Jones and guitarist Simon Tong - were in The Verve. In addition, Duncan has a voice like Ian Brown fed through a Robert Plant harmoniser, a mic technique acquired with former Stone Roses guitarist John Squire.

The Shining's amalgam of the well-heeled and mad-for-it formed from the overspill of Squire's post-Seahorses sessions. Si Jones met and "got twatted with" Squire at the last Verve gig. Eight subsequent months of jamming with Jones, Squire and Duncan on vocals failed to catch fire, and it looked like all was wasted.

"Dunc's enthusiasm for it spurred me on because I was ready to pack it all in," admits Jones. Taking the plunge again, Simon brought in ex-Verver Simon Tong, plus Wigan guitarist Dan MacBean and drummer Mark Heany. They reconvened in an east London railway arch, where that elusive chemistry was cornered. "I wanted to be in a fuckin' heavy guitar band - Stooges, some Can, Jane's Addiction, weighty music," says Jones. "And it was there."

Eighteen months of rehearsals before bringing in Youth as producer have given rise to an album and debut single, 'Quicksilver', which make a powerful case for The Shining as the UK's next great northwestern rock'n'roII band. Swagger, granite anthem tunesmithery and heavy northern soul beam from every crag. Richard Ashcroft may be forced to listen up.

So are The Shining better than The Verve?

Duncan: "That's an unfair question. That's fighting talk!"

Simon: "What I can say is that The Verve were going off in a direction of strings and ballads, and that's not where I was coming from at all. Loud guitars is it for me, and that's where I've got back to."

Given that one prospective album title is 'Rock your socks off" the symphony orchestras are well sacked. As Jack Nicholson might have it, prepare to be axed.

ROGER MORTON

Here's the video for your viewing pleasure:

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The singer looked nervous early on, but he soon got going with "the mad scottish crowd" in his own words. One song stood out in my mind I'd guess its called "store away" its was very intense and Jones's bass line reminded me of the good old days.

To be honest I thought they were amazing, Very rocky, a mention for the drummer for his outro on the last song was breathtaking, also the singer does have a great voice, hard to compare it with anybodys but if i'd had to its somewhere between Jagger and that bloke from Reef

Nothing as mind blowing as the verve but alot of great things could come of this if they can lose the ex verve members band tag

John Greenhorn

I'm assuming that we can attribute it to nerves, the way that Duncan Baxter stood stock still with one hand in pocket, playing with his ear piece, looking unsatisfied for 50% of the performance, he became a little more relaxed later on when he realised that they were actually being well received.

But with only about 80 people there it must have been a very nerve-wracking first gig and he obviously knew he would be compared to the obvious! That said the boys got a great rock voice (think Ian Astbury on the piss with Robert Plant!) and i think he'll become more of a star with every gig and hopefully someone will actually say something, ANYTHING, between songs.

Talking of songs....first impressions, a rocky take on indie, less trippy than verve, more balls out rock and roll without becoming 'meat n' potatoes' as we say in the uk. The only other song title i can remember is 'crest of an ocean' which in the words of Duncan Baxter "doesn't really make sense". Overall then, great band (special mention to drummer Mark Heaney) just need to make more effort on stage but as i said, it was the first gig and expectations were high, I'm sure as the tour picks up momentum so will Baxter's bravado and ego (in a good way).

Dave Pearce

As previously reported by NME, Coldplay's Chris Martin and The Flaming Lips' Wayne Coyne also sing on the record, which is called 'Your Love Means Everything Part 2' and released through Blanco Y Negro in mid-May.

Stipe sings on a track called 'Greenfields', while Martin sings on two tracks, 'Where Is My Boy' and 'Your Love Means Everything Part 2'. Coyne performs 'The Colossal Gray Sunshine' and McCabe, a longtime fan of Kosten's work, plays on a track called 'Lost Broadcast'...