PUNK band Pete's Sake have recorded their latest single, If That's What You Really Want, in Newport's Notting Pill Studios.

It was engineered by the Dub War/Skin Dredd posse, with Richard Jackson (Crashland, 60ft Dolls, Brave Captain) producing.

The Dredds are probably the best band to have come out of Newport in years, but despite releasing an excellent album last year, this year they were dropped.

Jackson is a Newport legend, having played in the city's grunge-era 60ft Dolls, and he released a milder solo album last year.

Together with Pete's Sake they've made a bottom-heavy collection of chuggin' good punk songs, which is out on Probation Records on Monday, December 8.

It's the first release for the new Valleys-based label and it should serve them well.

The label has been set up by Adam Stangroom, of FF Vinyl fame, and the band is managed by that label's director, Martin Bowen.

If That's What You Really Want - at a long-sounding four minutes, is a deceptively complicated song.

Without reducing its punchy, catchy appeal, the seemingly no-nonsense track has enough tricky tempo changes and fills to satisfy the muso as much as stage-diving wonders.

Its chorus is as anthemic as anyone might want it to be, and it remains solid through an unusual refrain.

Like The Strokes, every beat, every chord and high-pitched guitar squeal seems to say something.

B-side number one, Missing You Already, delivers another killer hook line and sinker into the gaping mouth of the current music scene.

Again, there are no typical local-band duff moments or naff transitions from the major to the minor.

There is, however, a cool climb- down which leads nicely to B- side number two, Crash and Burn.

The transition predicts greater things to come from Pete's Sake, as does the third song's interesting play with tempo.

Like Idlewild before them, Mono predicts that Pete's Sake will rise from local heroes to nation conquerors and makers of good record after good record.

One more famous local bod involved with the band is world-renowned performance artist Andrew Stitt, who was criticised in the local Press recently for being granted many thousands of pounds for a 'work of art' which included kicking a curry down the High Street to demonstrate anti-social behaviour.

But he's made them a cracking front cover, and that's all that matters here.

* If That's What You Really Want is out next week. Surf to www.probation-records.com for more info.

* Pete's Sake play Bristol University Union tonight.