Barfly welcomes lost Welsh sheep Huw Costin back to the fold next week when the singer appears in Earth The Californian Love Dream.

The man from Pontypool is also the bassist for the acclaimed, unsigned band from Nottingham, who self-release their first single next month.

In The Garden is typical of the band's line in raucous, knock-about Kinks-like songs, which have been praised by John Peel and have earned them a place at the British Showcase at South by Southwest in Texas in March.

But it's not the first stab at pop stardom made by Sam and co.

Sam moved to Nottingham to study photography where he co-founded Friends Of who went on to become the successful bleary-eyed wonders Six By Seven.

As that band toured the world Sam joined up with Huw, Chris and Jonny who split their respective bands to do so.

Their first big-thing was playing at an after-show party to Queens of the Stone Age and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club.

The end of 2003 saw them take even greater steps, finishing their debut album, and performing a memorable set at the In The City BBC event in Manchester.

The as yet untitled album should play like a sun-drenched version of The Strokes without the bleak New York aesthetic, if the demos at www.earththecalifornianlovedream.com are anything to go by.

In The Garden romps at the same medium-to-high pace set by Six By Seven while Porn Star is a very dry, down-beat Kinks tune, with a chorus that hints of the Manics.

Worry, however, is a sleazy hybrid of Aerosmith and Queens of the Stone Age.

Anyone with a love of song-writing and the craft therein should call at Barfly next week to hear more.

* Earth The Californian Love Dream play Barfly, Cardiff, on Tuesday, February 13. Single, In the Garden, is out on Monday, February 9. For more info see the band's website listed above.