Few bands deserve your attention more than this. Andy Hardie is the strongest most original songwriter to emerge from the North-East of England in years. His voice combines both a rich baritone and perfectly cracked higher registers. The style of the music lies somewhere between Tom Waits, Frank Sinatra and The White Stripes and is a complete break from the mundane conformity of today's music industry. With echoes of big band swing, alt country, jazz, dub and funk the music incorporates the darkness of Nick Cave and the lightness of Bacharach. The Free Radicals are quite simply the finest young musicians in the North-East and consist of Paul Susans - double bass / electric bass / vocals, Ben Gilbert - piano / synth / vocals, Martin Douglas - drums / percussion / vocals, Brendan Murphy - percussion, Dave Wilde - baritone sax / tenor sax / flute, Paul Gowland - alto sax and Graham Hardy - trumpet.