I shouldn't have judged Melbourne, Australia band British India by their cover. The mod grafiti and modern font would lead me to expect some slow, introspective indie rock. Perhaps there would be some jaunty hand-clapping, or some call and response vocals. But no, I would have been completely wrong. British India's 2007 début album, Guillotine, is an intense, high-energy guitar rock album. Reaching #4 on the AIR Chart in July 2007, and selected by the Triple J as a featured album, Guillotine received press attention in its native Australia, but not very much outside. That's regrettable, because there is not very much guitar rock being made these days that's worth writing home about.

"Black & White Radio" starts the album off hard and doesn't let up. Fast guitars, heavy drums, and strong vocals let you know that British India mean business. But the whole album isn't hard rock: the next track, "Tie Up My Hands," is certainly more full-on than anything on a Camera Obscua album, but it is also tempered by great lyrics.

"Run The Red Light" is the most recognisably indie track, and wouldn't be out of place on a Klaxons album. But the standout is "Russian Roulette," which manages to combine all the disparate sounds on the album and combine them into something great.

Each and every track is unique and high-energy. It could well be that British India are taking the mantlepiece from Sunny Day Real Estate — let's just hope that unlike their predecessors their first album isn't their last.

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