BONG! It's time for Banjo news

There's a whiff of stale yoghurt about the nu-folk scene these days (is anyone really that interested in a Mumford And Sons' second album?) but the record labels keep churning this stuff out.

Newcomers The Staves and Haim both have an undefinable magic that sets them apart from the stompy-footed farmhand stereotype, but what of the rest of the bunch?

Iceland's Of Monsters And Men are guilty of numerous crimes, including a particularly nasty case of trumpet abuse, but their boy-girl vocal dynamic gives their new single, Little Talks, a merry boost.

Of Monsters And Men - Little Talks

Meanwhile, Stealing Sheep have discarded their itchy, threadbare folk sweaters and gone for a romp in the fields of pop. Based in Liverpool, you can hear echoes of the city's close-harmony heritage in the fruity psychedelia of their latest single Genevieve. It's like spinning in a swivel chair (ie marvellous until you throw up).

Stealing Sheep - Genevieve

Tomorrow, back to your regular pop music service.

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New music for sheep rustlers

Smash
Thud
Bang
Crunch
Wallop

What's that noise? No, it's not a brick in a washing machine (that sounds more like this) it's the new single by Liverpool trio Stealing Sheep.

The girls - Becky Hawley (keys, vocals), Emily Lansley (guitar, vocals) and Lucy Mercer (drums, vocals) - started off in 2010, recording on cassettes and making their first EPs in an abandoned school in Liverpool. All of which is rather romantic and lo-fi, but since signing to Heavenly Records they've also had the chance to record in the lush studios at Abbey Road.

Luckily, the bigger budget has done nothing to diminish their charm. Their debut single, Shut Eye, starts off with the driving percussion of Mumford And Sons at their most demented, but the nursery rhyme vocals and psychedelic harmonies save it from being overblown. It's a beautiful racket. A delicate explosion. And it's only 59p on iTunes. What are you waiting for?

Oh, the video is what you're waiting for. Here it is, then.

Stealing Sheep - Shut Eye

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