New York has become the cool and happening city for promising new talent. This album is a testament to that fact, a compilation of the best new bands to emerge from the big apple. The Strokes classic cut "New York City Cops" war recorded live in Iceland and sets the standard of the quality to come - 16 bands, one album from one city.

Radio 4's "Save Your City" owe plenty to Joy Division and the current trend of the indie scene today. Punk pioneers The Rogers Sisters take girly vocals and the three chord blueprint to new heights on "Zero Point". Ted Leo / Pharmacists employ Velvet Underground soundscapes on the intriguingly titled "Ballad Of A Sin Eater". Other bands you may not know of are The Fever and Calla, but this album is a fine introduction to these talented groups. More folky, fey and less rawkish comes in the shape of Longwave, a Belle & Sebastian type band (Ed: Are yoy sure, Nick?) whose lyrics are razor sharp, sarcastic and a little self conscious. The much discussed and hyped Interpol donate they droney "NYC" which has a lot of British reserve for Americans, but has an epic, emotive power which certainly charmed me. The jingle jangle guitar and rock N roll histrionics of The Witnesses' "I Should Not Have To Ask" is a retro rousing rollercoaster of a track, which is guaranteed to get you dancing like a loon.

LED Soundsystem give us an unlistenable dirge in the form of "Tired" which is exactly how I felt after hearing such rubbish. Le Tigre's "Deception" is disco meets Daft Punk let down badly by an annoying out of key female vocal akin to hearing fingernails scratched down a blackboard.

"Yes New York" is certainly a mixed bag. The music scene in New York is undoubtedly an exciting time recalling the joy and discovery of the period in the mid to late 70s when bands infested CBGB's and Max's Kansas City. For our generation bands such as The Rapture and The Walkmen are as important to us now as the New York Dolls, The Ramones and Talking Heads were then. Welcome to the new musical revolution. New York has and always will matter as a city bursting with musical talent,

Nicholas Paul Godkin