Kicking off the round up of music today we have Beth Rowley whose debut EP ‘Violets’ is out now. We’re living times of talent when it comes to the presence of female vocalists and Beth is another to be added to the roster. Her press release makes a big deal of her femme fatale look as well as her talent and while its true she’s not hard to look at the real focus should be on her voice. Evocative and full of the promise of things to come, Beth evokes an aura of smoke tinged after hours drinking establishments where bad things happen to the wrong people. Her voice drips with dark emotion on tracks like ‘Nobody’s Fault But Mine’ and she continues effortlessly throughout the four tracks on offer here. Pay particular note to ‘Only One Cloud’ for a demonstration of her talents. A worthy purchase, out now on Blue Thumb/Universal

Out on January 7th is ‘All I Can’ by Clocks through Island. Nothing life changing here but a mildly infectious piece of post Britpop fare. It’s all rather traditional in execution following the well trodden band formula. In fairness if they’re going for a retro 90’s shtick they’ve more or less hit the nail on the head. Completely with the wheezy organ chuntering away in the background. Not bad but nothing to make my eyes water here.

Morrissey returns on 28th January with a new single to support his up and coming tour ‘That’s How People Grow Up’, the NME might be his sworn enemies once again but the old sod can still crank out a good single with ease. This is no exception to the rule either, vintage Moz that should appease the fan and casual listener alike. That’s not all either, the single will be released on CD and dual 7” formats with live versions of “Last Of The International Playboys”, “The Boy With The Thorn In His Side” and “Why Don’t You Find Out For Yourself” on each respective format. One for the completists out there.

And there’s more…

Moz has a greatest hits album out on February 4th on Polydor/Decca which will gather together his seminal tracks from his post Smiths career, a timely introduction for the uninitiated and a sure fire chart topper because lets be fair, I can’t remember the last time he ever fired a dud in the singles stakes.

Here’s a round up of his live dates

21st Jan London Roundhouse
22nd Jan London Roundhouse
23rd Jan London Roundhouse
25th Jan London Roundhouse
26th Jan London Roundhouse
27th Jan London Roundhouse
30th Jan Doncaster Dome
1st Feb Sunderland Empire
2nd Feb Edinburgh Playhouse

London take note you are well catered for in this instance. Oh and finally expect new material in Autumn 2008.

Also of note, The Twang hit the road in February 2008 taking themselves out to the masses. Here are their dates

Wed 6th – Colchester, University
Thurs 7th – Warwick, University
Fri 8th – Northampton, Roadmenders
Sat 9th – London, Shepherds Bush Empire
Mon 11th – Lincoln, University
Tue 12th – Leicester, University
Wed 13th – Dudley, JB’s
Thurs 14th – Frome, Cheese and Grain
Sat 16th – Guildford, University
Sun 17th – Falmouth University
Mon 18th – Bournemouth, University
Tue 19th – Reading, University
Thurs 21st – Swansea, University
Fri 22nd – Bangor, University
Sat 23rd – Bradford, University
Sun 24th – Lancaster, Sugarhouse
Tue 26th – Edinburgh, University
Wed 27th – Hull, University