A band with a genuine ear for melody plays TJ's and Sam's Bar this month.

Gracie, pictured, a five piece, scattered about Newport, came together in September 2000, to write songs and take over the world of pop and beyond. Gracie - The Demo, contains the fruits of their labours which are ripe with songs blessed with distinctive tunes and harmonies.

This is no hard rock band. A rarity for Newport, Gracie are soft, and all the better for it. Like their contemporaries, Smokestack, they sing big songs softly.

Lead track You Wait is introduced with a charming guitar lead reminiscent of the Stone Roses' early singles, such as, Sally Cinnamon, or the sleepy tones of the dearly departed Sarah Records label. But the vocals are like Deacon Blue's or any of the host of 30-something bands that propped up the dog end of the 1980s, ageing into the 1990s before the quitting when the kids got too old!

Dazed and Confused is a nice filler, with an unusual break beat driven verse sung in a mournful echoing another Manchester man, Morrissey.

The Road Looked Good, is the demo's highlight. Here, they could be another Gorky's Zygotic Mynci, with a very strong melody accentuated with guitar pin pricks. The vocal is like Donovan in his slower, more dazed period around the turn of the 1960s into the '70s.

Gracie are in their early to mid 20s (Marc Hill, Steve Cook (guitars, vocals and song writing), Simon (drums), Mike Brown (lead guitar and son of Ian Brown, brother of James Brown), Kevin (keyboards) and have been and will continue to be, regular sounds on the Newport scene.

* Gracie support Sikorsky in TJ's, Newport on Wednesday December 19. Doors open 9pm. Gracie play Sam's Bar, Cardiff on Sunday December 30.