After a week's hiatus, for your entertainment at the start of another working week here's five more hand-picked delights from the Scruff Of The Neck stable.

Ten Tombs – 'Demons'

Moody and atmospheric alt-rock from Cheltenham, Ten Tombs are a band who aim big. 'Demons' is as frenetic as it is anthemic and undoubtedly serves as a centrepiece to the band's live shows. Following in a similar vein to such stadium-sized bands as Muse, without the pretension, it's easy to see Ten Tombs on such stages in years to come.

Dear Leaders – 'Sponge'

Based between Manchester and London, four-piece Dear Leaders create a wonky brand of synth-pop that's feels as nostalgic as it does forward-thinking. A woozy, heady affair, 'Sponge' feels a little like Tycho doing covers of The Shins after indulging in a handful of Valium. It's every bit as awesome as that sounds.

Crossfire – 'Ark'

One of Manchester's more refined and more delicate young acts, Crossfire are rapidly earning themselves favour across the North West. Not only is 'Ark' a rich, folky affair that brings to mind a more subdued Of Monsters And Men, but it spins a stark narrative relating to a destroyed homeless shelter on Manchester's Oxford Road. Poignant stuff.

The Atmospherics – 'Time Will Tell'

Blackpool isn't the first town you'd think of when mentioning melodic indie pop, but that's exactly where The Atmospherics hail from. 'Time Will Tell' is an infectious slice of jangle pop that suggest boundless promise from the four-piece. What's more, you'll find yourself humming along even on the first listen.

Little Mono – 'Propeller'

Taken from Little Mono's most recent album, 'Projector' is a frothy poppy number that's lavished in a rich fuzz which in turn lends it an air of '90s alt rock. Though somewhat removed from the band's usual psych pop tendencies, it's upbeat and summery all the same, and still retains a perfect amount of bite.

The Weekly Froth! A weekly take on six tracks, most of which have recently popped up somewhere in the blogosphere. Bit of a mixed bag with a slight leaning towards house, disco, and remixes, but generally just anything that for some reason tickled the writer’s fancy.

Track of the Week:‘Work It Alright’ by Pontchartrain

On the ever classy Whiskey Disco label we get Pontchartrain doing a bit of their magic, first slowly setting the mood, but then surely adding more rhythm in with some extra percussion. Just before the minute mark the bass walks in, becoming ever more prominent along with the aforementioned instrument group. And they’re working together when the third main component comes in, the vocals, male, deep, and soul. And they’re singing that they "love you baby" (you go gurrrl), after which the song gets down to it with that sexy bass groove. At the 3:30 mark they dial down on the rhythm a bit, leaving the bass in there, but adding a bit of a guitar riff, giving you a bit of those extras, after which they slowly work back by adding some percussion again. And by re-entering those vocals, singing You better watch, watch where you go, as the guitar starts ripping it up, giving you that blues right there. After that, the bass and drums come in again, giving you that main groove for another go around. Just a killer of a track by a label whose vinyl I happily play to get into that dancing mood.

‘Love Apparel’ by Lorenzo Dada (Axel Boman remix)

This one starts with a bit of rhythm and a bit of glitch, soon coming up first with some work on the keys, and then, to contrast, the steady beat. Around the minute mark you also get some of the vocals in, super calm. Then a little bass sound, not for the rhythm, but for the vibe, a deep sound contrasting the keys. And so you have some higher pitched, more frantic elements, mixed with the bass, beat, and vocals, giving you that steady, calm, know-where-the-beat-is feel. At about 2:45 the latter group gets dialled down for a moment, with first the vocals returning in their moodiness. Then, the beat again, giving you the deep house feel of Axel Boman, with smatterings of light via the keys. One of those steady house cuts where the interplay between some of the contrasts give you the hypnotic as well as the touch you need to make it work.

‘WCWLT’ by Timmy Thomas (FLUSH edit)

FLUSH is another alias for Aeroplane, and for this one he gets the percussion going before diving into the original sounds of ‘Why Can’t We Live Together’, giving it a dancefloor tom-tom feel to give this ol’ disco classic just a little bit of a different twang. At 1:40, the bass after the familiar transition, and then the vocals, pleading to know, boy, Why can’t we live together (Tell me why, tell me why, tell me why). By this time the percussion is still there, but is now part of the bigger rhythm part, with some of the old classic sounds bringing you the vibes of yore for the nostalgia bit. The synth line you can hear around the 3:10 mark, that is a nice touch that gives it a bit of that sense of pace, and when the instrumental solo starts FLUSH makes sure to also get the bass back in for all you dancers to hold on to. So plenty of percussion and bass for rhythm, a bit of that dancefloor feel, and naturally plenty of room for the Timmy Thomas bits. Just another nice edit for this classic disco cut.

‘Nobody Else’ by Jarreau Vandal feat. Brasstracks & Niya Wells (Pat Lok remix)

How about some of that drug hazed night vibe at the start, doing the slow burn. That slow burn quickly gets contrasted by those fast talking vocals, at one point singing, nay, imploring you Give me your love. Then, just before the minute mark, the synth and the beat for riff and rhythm, giving backbone to the pop feel that the combination with the singing brings out. At 1:50, the major slow-mo, bringing it all the way down before working it back up first, and then bringing in that beat and synth again second. And all that keeps working as she sings that she wants you to know that you’re the only one she’s dreaming of. There are some nifty transitions here, going from very nu-electronical to old school sounds, like some jazzy vibes, or the piano at the very end. Lots going on in this nice Pat Lok remix.

 ‘I’ve Got To Dance’ by The Destinations (Debonair Rework)

Debonair starts no punches pulled, going club with The Destinations, a '70s disco group. The beat here, though, hits hard over the cymbal action, only later putting the disco and funk feel in. Slowly but surely elements of that time come back, culminating to its peak at about the 1:30 mark, by which time it’s full throttle. At 1:50 that is combined with the pace and, a few seconds later, the vocals, telling us to “dance” and doing so numerous times. Debonair makes sure to keep up the pace, so people who are willing should have no trouble. Around the 2:50 mark we get another change-up in which the tempo surely doesn’t drop, really working that thing right there. Before 4:40 they remove the beat for a minute, but they come back with some of that bass to keep it all afloat. Up-tempo dancing, with enough disco infused sounds to bring us back to our disco destinations (…).

 ‘Crazy’ by Seal (Rayko Crazy Rework)

Rayko takes on the main hit of Australia’s The Voice judge Seal, going with the riff predominantly, and then the bass for a bit of that rhythm. After the 1:10 mark we get atmospheric synths and extra percussion, and the next change-up sees the entrance of the vocals. First the verse, and obviously working towards the well-known chorus. Leading up to that, Rayko strips the rhythm sounds first to have the focus on the vocals as Seal sings that We’re never going to survive, unless we get a little crazy. And then, not the pounce, but a bassy synth sound, followed and helped out by a bit of a beat. He rides that one for a short while, before returning to the more subdued dancing nature of earlier. To bring the edit to an end he goes to the soulful vocals again, letting them fade out to signal the finish. Rayko has a nice little slow tempo song going on here, just doing that edit thing he does so well.

For your entertainment at the start of another working week here's five more hand-picked delights from the Scruff Of The Neck stable.

Rinse – 'Not Too Late'

Jangles aplenty from Stoke's Rinse, a band who straddle the line between melody and discord excellently. Barely a week old, latest single 'Not Too late' sees the band leaning more towards the former; suitably swimmy and even at times optimistic, it isn't until the conclusion that the more dissonant side rears its ugly head, cementing the track as one of this year's stand out singles and Rinse as ones to keep an eye on.

Uncomely – 'Silly Faces'

Another week, another grunge band from Leeds, there's something in that city's water. Uncomely however, are bringing something a little different to the table. Blending together snarling blues with a punk attitude, all wrapped up in the DIY production that's come to be synonymous with the city. 'Silly Faces' is the lead single from the band's most recent EP, and is four minutes of swaggering blues-fuelled alt-rock. Excellent.

LIINES – 'Never There'

Having already earned comparisons to the likes of PINS and Sleater Kinney, Manchester's LIINES are showing no sign of slowing down. The band's latest single 'Never There' was John Kennedy’s X-Posure 'Single of the Week' and it's easy to see why. Three-minutes of blistering post-punk, that much like the band themselves, offers little in the way of compromise, LIINES make a noise worth getting excited about.

The Wrong Girl – 'This Town'

Arguably the most melodic band on offer this week, Sheffield's The Wrong Girl craft no-nonsense indie pop that jangles along with the best of them. With just 'This Town' on offer at the moment, The Wrong Girl are somewhat of an enigma, but with new material promised soon, it won't be long before we know a lot more about them.

All Hail Hyena – 'A Strangers' Song'

Fusing together post-punk, indie pop, math-rock and almost any other double-barrelled pigeon-hole you can think of, Burnley's All Hail Hyena are a band for whom convention matters little. Latest track 'A Strangers' Song' sees off-kilter time signatures incorporated in to a jerky, stop-start composition that rattles towards its conclusion with a melodic, albeit it somewhat reckless, abandon.

The Weekly Froth! A weekly take on six tracks, most of which have recently popped up somewhere in the blogosphere. Bit of a mixed bag with a slight leaning towards house, disco, and remixes, but generally just anything that for some reason tickled the writer’s fancy.

Track of the Week: ‘I Still Reach Out To You’ by Lenny Williams (Underdog’s Breakdown edit)

Getting the disco going from the start with that nifty bass line, and then those era-defining strings coming in to really set the feel for this one. Then the boogie with the rhythm bass and percussion, followed by the unique vocals of Lenny Williams, whose voice I adore. Some nifty guitar work comes in at 1:30 to help the subdued set-up, and then the girls come on in from the back to lure you into the song as they want you to tell them what to do (a dangerous proposition in whatever context I’d say). In the mean time Underdog slowly raises the funk level in the back with the instruments, and then, at 3:06, the big reveal, including Williams doing some of that thang. He goes full throttle, yelling out he’s Reaching out, and announcing, Here’s my love, take it baby! In the mean time that disco boogie is still going on, with some funky rhythms in the back, with Underdog also knowing when to slow it down for a minute to not have any overkill here, going all in on that main groove. It’s a superb disco dancefloor edit with lovely bits (bass, guitar riff), but most of all those fab vocals from the old Tower Of Power frontman. Definitely one to get it on to under those discotheque lights.

‘Vendetta’ by Far Out Monster Disco Orchestra (Al Kent remix)

There’s a bit of that African percussion to get your rhythm vibes working, some string work to remind you of the disco dancefloor in front of you, and then at about the fifty second mark the beat comes in to help you get on there and do some grooving. Especially with the percussion that comes in just after, that helps with that I’m sure. And Al Kent really goes the distance with the rhythm here, providing you with plenty of it, only giving you strings for the disco atmospherics. The rest is all about the shakin’ and the bakin’ for a long while. At the 2:30 mark we get a bit of a change-up, but the main idea stays the same there. The 4:40 change sees some bass action entering though, so that is a pretty huge thing, with it still even more rhythm entering the equation, which is being highlighted beyond believe in this Al Kent groover. At 5:40 that bass and the earliest form of percussion get some time at center stage, with at the six minute mark a more steady rhythm bass entering to give those hips something to do some damage to. It is a super rhythm heavy turn for the floor, understated-yet-bouncy. The singular disco sound does get back in there for some extra euphoria, which is a good way to draw this one to a close I reckon.

‘Pusherman’ by Curtis Mayfield (Pied Piper Regroove)

I love the slick, on-the-down-low-Jazz-club start of this Pied Piper regroove of a Curtis Mayfield tune. Very sultry, very percussion funk, and it sets the tone for the track. After about half a minute the track gets a bit more of a backbone to it, and with the guitar riff at about the sixty second mark the funk really gets in. Just before we get to the two minute mark we get the vocals, singing that he’s Your pusherman. It’s really got the cocaine jazz feel to it, and the non-straight percussion really helps out there. The vocals and the lines, too, do this, giving it this at-night-in-fright vibe where all that hazy shit is going down. The guitar, as said, that’s really a great addition, it gives it something to hang on to as well and, by doing that, help keep the percussion at ease. At 4:30 we get a momentary stop, which gets kicked back into gear soon enough with all the smokey bass and percussion that have been putting their stamp on the entire track for the entire duration. Put on those funky, round glasses, the black turtleneck, smoke something, and do that difficult Jazz dancing Beat poets do.

‘Prayer To St. Therese’ by Johnny Jewel feat. Chloe Sevigny

Johnny Jewel teams up with actress and poetess Chloe Sevigny for a campaign for the perfume company Regime des Fleurs. As always, Jewel manages to get all the vibes in there, providing just the right sounds floating around, slowly adding some rhythm elements there to help out Sevigny’s delivery of the poem. I love the spoken word vocals, she does that well, and in the background the midnight approaching menacingly with some rays of sunlight or some form of the divine glowing through all that. It’s a short little thing, but it is just another one of those by Jewel that just takes into account tone, audience, and the narrator delivering the odorous tale that needs to be soundtracked. Apparently at an event of the company the entirety of this will be on display, but in the mean time, this will do just fine I reckon.

‘Horizonte’ JKriv Rework

Starting with some beach sounds, then a little bit of acoustic guitar; you’d almost think you’re at some sort of beach with palm trees there. Then he fades that all out and comes back with some similarly vibed sounds, though this batch does include a bit of a beat to have a little beach party to. The sparkly sounds still give it this light-hearted holiday air. At about 1:20 you get an extra percussion in there that gives the track a bit more punch, though they trade that in for some Miami sounds around the two minute mark. And so this track keeps moving on, with the beat as a bit of a backbone, but especially the Hawaii feel which dominates the tone of the track. The vocals doing a du-du-dup line only add to that. Some of the sounds do have their origins in the disco, and all of them can soundtrack those holiday dreams you have around 16:00 of every day at the office you’ve ever had. Chillin’ the day away with that in a coconut served cocktail, right here.

‘Qwazars’ by Mr. Fingers

Any time you get a slice of house by Mr. Fingers it’s worthy of a listen. Here he rides those old school house sounds into the middle of the night, with a nice deep beat in the back, and some lovely synthesiser action up front. He adds a second one around 1:40, giving it a lighter vibe before adding those deep, dark vocals. He doesn’t forget the rhythm though, adding a bit of extra percussion in there before coming with some additional drums. The pace, though, is still dictated by the starting beat and synth, and emphasised by the secondary synthesizer. It is one of those groovers for your drug riddled mind (high on love, obviously, nothing else), a deep house slow ride that pushes all those buttons a track like that is supposed to. I mean, this year, there’s a new EP from this guy, what is there to further want, really?