This week saw a second number five single from the Surrey-based rock group Gardening. The group comprise of four middle-class university students, playing guitar, drums, bass and acoustic guitar or piano on every single song. Said NME writer Keith Mooney, "We're really glad to see such a really confrontational band do so well. With all these boy and girl bands around it's so rare to find a band comprising of four men in their early twenties who write sad songs with occasional loud guitar bits in them. And the acoustic guitar - that's just never used anymore, especially not by whining singer-songwriters."

Gardening almost knocked new r'n'b sensation Jale Bate and boy group 4Skin from the number two and three slots. On hearing Gardening's intention to try and 'break America', Rolling Stone journalist Jerry Sidowski said, "Good luck to those guys! If there was a long history of average pub-rock British bands exhaustively touring the US trying to make a name for themselves then Gardening would be in the shit. But as their isn't any of that, I'd say Gardening have a good chance of being as big as the 'Stones."

Fans of group Judy Ferris, 18, and Nick Fontaine, 19, have set up Gardening official fan club over the internet. Said Ferris of the band's startling approach to music, "It's amazing to see a group of four university educated young men write emotional songs about their feelings and stuff." Added Fontaine, "Yeah, and the way Neil [lead vocals and acoustic guitar/piano] does that thing where he breaks his voice to make it go high. I definitely haven't heard that in every single indie record all year at all."

NME's Keith Mooney continued, "We gave Gardening's new record 'Love is so Painful' a well-deserved 10 out of 10. It's true some people had trouble adjusting at first - the whole idea of combining guitar, bass, drums, acoustic guitar and vocals was such a shock at first. But all great music has to be truly revolutionary. It's like politics, or something." Mooney predicts big things for Gardening, "Yeah, sure there'll soon be people imitating Gardening, but when you come up with a truly original idea that always happens. I doubt if any of the imitators will be as good as the original, though!"