This Newport, Wales-based quartet was discovered by local hero Richard Parfitt, formerly of the 60 Foot Dolls, in Newport’s Le Pub. Pouring scorn on other Welsh artists, Gavin Goodwin (vocals), Alun Bound (guitar), Owen Matthews (drums) and Neil Dugmore (keyboards), who formed the band in 1999, proclaimed themselves as the saviours of pop music. With disdain for the media and music contemporaries alike, the impassioned zeal of Goodwin launched the band into prominence with a New Musical Express cover despite a meagre track record. His nervy performance style led to comparisons with Joy Division’s Ian Curtis, and like Curtis, he speaks of music-making as a compulsion rather than a route to fame. Indeed, the rough intensity of the limited edition The Time Is Now EP and debut single ‘Cannibal Kids’ tapped the same energy as the punk and grunge movements. The media hype set impossible standards for their debut album, released in March 2001, although on tracks such as ‘White Gold Way’ and ‘Deliverance’ the band’s great potential shone through.