Bored of angsty and schizoid guitar-driven post-hardcore? Maybe you should try the piano flavour as offered by French three-piece My Own Private Alaska.

Another Welsh pop-punk band? Straight Lines may not be doing anything particularly new, but Persistence In This Game at least has the courage of its convictions.

Yet more by-the-numbers box-ticking chart fodder from Young Guns, recently voted “band most likely to disappear up the collective arse of Lostprophets”.

Poor Flood Of Red; their reasonable single “Home Run (1997)” was almost completely obscured by press release hyperbole about their not-so-radical business model.

Young Weegie emo outfit Twin Atlantic have maintained their distinctive and progressive take on an otherwise tired-out genre with their Vivarium mini-album.

Just in case you were wondering, yes, bands like You Me At Six will be flogging that equine corpse until it stops bleeding money. Not long to go now, I hope.

Post-hardcore outlanders Planet Brain and Lebatol share the logically-titled Split album to great effect; heartily recommended to all musical gourmands.

Attention, post-hardcore bands – Sights & Sounds may have found a way to make me like your music: just get Devin Townsend to produce it as well as Monolith.

Fife metalcore five-piece Here Lies A Warning sound like they’re a decent enough band, but the Keep Your Head Under The Water EP is massively overproduced.

If you’re yearning for the tired and over-harmonised emo-pop sound of 2005, Cardiff’s I Am Hope have got your back. You should also consider therapy.