These are good times for music in Horsham. The inaugural Festival of Sound went down a storm in September, with some great performances from the likes of Bad Boy Boogie, an AC/DC tribute act.

The Battle of the Bands contest is coming up too, with a whole host of young bands looking to make a name for themselves. Visit hdlma.co.uk for details on how to enter.

We’ve had a bit of a dig around and come up with a few songs that we hope will whet your appetite and maybe make you pop out and support the local live music scene. Incidentally, we did originally place these in some sort of order, but in the main it’s 3 and 6 that we find ourselves humming! Anyway, happy listening!

1: Tied to the Mast – Plain lazy. For us, this is far and away their standout track, and it’s one where they the hard rocking is substituted for a slow burning skateboard-slacker anthem. See the video below.

2: Stick in a Pot: decider - We’re big fans of Stick in a Pot at AAH and would recommend watching them live too. Our favourite is Decider, although the single chosen was Navel Lint, which can be viewed at https://vimeo.com/18557037 We also love Plinky the Alien which can be heard at www.stickinapot.com

3: Sandweaver:  Mending - This song has become popular (it’s has picked up over 23,000 viewings on YouTube) after appearing on a Canadian TV show called Degrassi. It’s one of the poppier numbers on the band’s first album Invasion. To listen view https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b28B2woH1XY or see below for another good song from them, Back in the Middle.

4: Phrase Mob: Suburban Decay - The hip hop collective have a good fanbase and there’s melody behind the messenger on the mic. Listen to new tracks now out on iTunes. To watch (parental warning) visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAumVSAoI_A

5: The Collector: the Collector – This band is essentially a collective of Horsham musicians, including Simon King, Simon Mole, Matt Andrews and double bass player Gary Holder. This track is sung by guest vocalist Leah Miller. To listen visit https://www.myspace.com/thecollectormusic

6: Paul Messis – Time Will Tell - we are big fans of the wonderful, authentic 1960s inspired garage rock anthems he pens. Cracking videos too! To watch see below or visit his website at https://www.paulmessis.moonfruit.com/

7: Wobby Squadron - Grarse Rooster: Off the band’s recent EP, this is an intriguing instrumental amalgamation of sounds and samples. To watch visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WchUWeYWrjc

8: Now called Pipe and Tabor, the national final Live and Unsigned finalists have some lovely songs, such as pop punk blast Rock Star and Reggae spiced folk ditty Stand Down. To hear visit https://www.myspace.com/mrfynn or see a live version of Stand Down below

9: Last Letter Read: Miles Away - Last Letter Read won the 2009 Battle of the Bands competition. They’ve also picked up nearly 50,000 views on YouTube with this soaring soundtrack to teenage heartbreak. Visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7uwa4tCrVI

10: His mournful acoustic-led songs are not for everyone, but Calum can play and has an uncanny ability to be both sad yet strangely uplifting. Calum released an album in 2010 called Essential Nature and you can download tracks at https://calumpratt.bandcamp.com/ or watch Altered State below