By Paul Towler

Swindon based four piece The 211 are the latest young hopefuls from a town that has produced a wealth of musical talent over the years. On first listen, the band's reference points are obvious - cheeky, choppy and 'typically British' guitar pop from the same stable yard as The Arctic Monkeys. On closer inspection however, you'll discover that The 211 cook up something which, in my humble opinion, is more carefully considered than just mere imitation. Essentially, The 211 deliver a well balanced nod to influences both old and new. Their snappy, intelligent and whimsical pop lends itself as much to 60's mod and 80's jangle pop as they do to any present day counterparts. For the indie-pop purists out there, think 'C86' but fuelled by lager rather than panda pops!

January 19th saw the Wiltshire lads make their second appearance at Midsomer Norton's hotbed of cool The Wunderbar. For the more metropolitan based readers out there, it's quite easy to assume that nothing remotely cultural happens south of Bedminster! Take a short trip south of the city limits though, and you'll soon discover that many of North Somerset's outlying towns have cultivated their own 'micro-scenes' of bands, DJs and self-contained bohemian cool that can often rival anything the urban sprawl has to offer. Midsomer Norton's intimate yet bustling venue The Wunderbar is one such oasis of activity in the out-of-town provinces.  

Tonight's raucous set delivered a succession of choppy, cheeky and shamelessly catchy guitar-pop gems to die for. I seriously recommend you grab a copy of the band's 4 track demo CD currently being given away at gigs. It's one of the best freebies you're ever likely to grab. If the pop prowess of their first self-produced recordings demonstrates what this young refreshing band is potentially capable of, then perhaps you'll be grabbing their next CD from next years 'best new artists' awards. Great gig guys.