British Lo-Fi

the teenbeat
The UK music scene, as portrayed by the NME and other related publications, consists of plenty of bands who love the "good old days" of British music - particularly the days of punk and post-punk - and want to relive those days. Gone is the Brit-pop era. However, there is a tremendous amount of UK lo-fi music that is way under the radar right now, and I think that is unfortunate. So here are a few groups and musicians that all you lo-fi fans should check out because they're good.
Santa Dog is a female-fronted group from Bristol. Now, I am by no means an expert on shoegaze, but this band seems to be obsessed with the shoegaze music of Velocity Girl. A little heavier, but not by much. Fantastic vocals, great guitar washes, and plenty of hi-hat. Listen to Delicate, a song that appeared on their first 4 track EP.
I'm also digging Viva Stereo right now. Maybe they're not too lo-fi, though ...
The vocals sound, to me, reminiscent of Mark E. Smith of the Fall. But the production is less frivolous, making for a semi-lo-fi feel. Listen to Jesus Son, a mastered live track.
When I first saw the name, the Teenbeat, I immediately thought of the record label, Teenbeat. However, the Teenbeat was formed in Birkenhead about 10 years ago, and they have neither changed nor gotten any more press since they day they were created. Ashame, really, but maybe it's best that these guys stay timeless. They are most definitely lo-fi, but I find their vocalist to be the most intriguing aspect of the group. He sounds like Nick Diamonds of the Unicorns and Islands combined with Stephin Merritt of Magnetic Fields. Pretty interesting, I think ... listen to Round Yours For Tea.
Lastly, we have Mutt Ramon, an electronic artist. Nothing too special, but very pleasant. His music sounds like it was written for a normal band, but then translated to casio and computer. Plenty of NES sounds, too ... very cute and fun. Listen to Physically Corrupted.