Dutch Uncles

Forget London. Manchester and all its surrounding environs is where everything is happening now – Delphic, Egyptian Hip Hop, Everything Everything…and this band, Dutch Uncles.

As one can imagine, if you live in Manchester and are a musician, the desire to escape from the ghosts of your city’s celebrated musical past are a constant preoccupation. But hearing Dutch Uncles, I don’t think anyone can accuse this quintet of copying anyone, past or present. Huw Stephens of Radio1 had them round at Maida Vale last week for his ‘BBC Introducing…’ segment and I was really impressed with two tracks the band considers ‘old’ – ‘Face In’ and ‘Fragrant’. But best of all was their new single released on 31 May, ‘the Ink’.

The only band whose sound I draw a comparison with regards to this single is Field Music – and even then the comparison is tenuous (uh, prominent jangly piano sequence?). Lead singer Duncan Wallis’s voice is filled with innocence, in stark contrast to the up-tempo guitars, but somehow it all makes sense. ‘The Ink’ single is backed by an even more instrumentally frenetic track, ‘Creature’. I’m imagining they must be a fun band to watch live – I can’t be there but you can catch them on tour as support for Sky Larkin in September (tour dates here). If you go, let us know what you think. - There Goes the Fear

It was heartening to see that, of the 15 bands and artists in this year's BBC Sound Poll longlist, a fifth of them – Hurts, Everything Everything and Delphic – were from Manchester. Considering that so many of the greatest groups of the last 30 years (Buzzcocks, Magazine, the Fall, the Smiths, Joy Division, New Order, Happy Mondays, Stone Roses, 808 State) have been Mancunian, the ratio could have been even higher. In fact, being contentious, it could probably be argued that England's third city has produced far more important and influential bands these past three decades than the capital.

But there hasn't been a truly great one for a good long while. So even more encouraging was the quality of the Manc bands in the BBC countdown – and you can add Egyptian Hip Hop and Airship to that list. It would appear that, after years of dominance by sub-Oasis lad drone rockers, right up to and including Twisted Wheel and the Courteeners, Manchester is finally producing some innovative, intelligent acts. You know Dutch Uncles – friends since primary school in Marple, a suburb of Greater Manchester, who formerly operated as the Headlines and have been touring with Maximo Park, Dananananakroyd and Delphic – are going to be a cerebral cut above the usual oiks when they mention as their favourite musicians the likes of King Crimson, Talking Heads and Steve Reich. We've become used to seeing Talking Heads name-checked by bands ever since the noughties punk-funk thing began, but King Crimson – typically cited as the foundational prog-rockers with their complex structures and ever-shifting time signatures – are less regularly acknowledged. As for Reich, this is the first time we've seen the American minimalist composer get a nod from a young rock outfit.

But as we said on Monday with Lily Allen-alike Eliza Doolittle, it's one thing claiming to listen to certain artists while you're recording your own music and another to actually absorb their influence and allow it to shape your work. In this instance T Heads + Reich + Crimson doesn't exactly = Dutch Uncles, but you do get the impression, listening to the two tracks on their MySpace, that they're at least open to different sources and trying to do things differently, in terms of rhythm, melody and overall composition. Yes, Face In has the herky-jerkiness of the math-rock that was all the rage three years ago but like their other song Doppelganger, it has a lightness of touch that suggests Dutch Uncles could make a serious attempt to rival Mew, if not Muse, in the prog-pop stakes. - Guardian