Kate Griffin freelance journalism and editing

East Oxford’s most famous event will be taking place in a different location this year.  The Cowley Road Carnival, Oxford’s largest community-led outdoor event, will be held in South Park and renamed “Carnival in the Park”.

The move is happening because the event’s organisers are not confident of securing enough funding to close Cowley Road and turn it into a car-free space for the day. Closing the road incurs significant costs because of the need to re-route buses and ensure the safety of the thousands of attendees.

The first two tracks of EP Dumbstruck are mixed by Chris Sheldon, whose CV reads like the track listing for an indie rock compilation album. That’s an excellent clue to what the Dacoits are all about: indie rock in the Nineties/early Noughties style.

Anna McNicholl's day job involves studying mediaeval history, but her chirpy retro-pop has its roots in the more recent past. There's a definite Sixties vibe to her sunshiny tunes as well as to her current look. She cites Nick Cave, Tom Waits and Patti Smith as influences, but it's difficult to detect any gothic darkness in her sound. This artist is more about well-crafted power pop tunes, Dylan-style folk and the occasional foray into more aggressive rock.

Pub debates about bands can get heated, but you can rarely go far wrong if you say "They were better in the early days, before their production got too slick."

Not so for Monkey Puzzle. While the likes of Pixies, Hole or REM might have sounded more interesting with their earlier, rougher production, Monkey Puzzle are an act in serious need of smoother production.