The future is Marnie Stern, she’s busy filling that part in.

Stern is the sort of person the term “math rock” was invented for. This Is It and I Am It and You Are It and So Is That and He Is It and She Is It and It Is It and That Is That sounds like it has been processed by a physics equation and fed into an scientific calculator with the square root key held down. She plays her instrument like a Guitar Hero player on speed, tapping ten strings a second. It’s like Melt Banana discovered Indie rock, or more probably Indie rock discovered Melt Banana – even their trademark high pitching squeaking. But for its musical achievements, at the album’s heart are a bucket load of infectious tunes and screaming, boosted by the record’s frenetic pace.

In the Cardiff corner are Fredrick Stanley Star. Their debut, available in a vinyl and MP3 combo, which should satisfy both music nerds and iPod-chavs, is the BPM opposite of Marnie. Heaviside Layer is the band’s live show without the chattering crowd noise. Recorded in what sounds like a church, the analogue medium really suits the spiritual and haunting atmosphere FSS generate. What could be quite conventional folk songs are drawn out until they almost crack with harmonising and sparse but lush instrumentation. Then half way through a song FSS transform into the secular gospel band which has made them such a hit live. They have become masters of their own brand of loud-quiet Americana – making their very spiritual and religious music exciting and exhilarating. FSS have a bright future ahead of them, and Heaviside Layer is a great start.

Both available now.