THE quest for new music can often lead to small, odd-shaped places, tucked obscurely away on the fringes of a town.

Thankfully, Monday night's Loaded Live at Bucks college has The White Room at its disposal. Designed by the Ministry of Sound's refurbishment crew, it has the space to let the music breathe. While emerging acts can perform on stage without a front-row-wall of punters to stare at, amplifying their mood as it envelopes the room.

Every other week features one local, student and headline act. With a fair selection of people into making music, jamming or just checking out the offerings, it's a good place to be if you're getting started.

First on, last Monday, was Oxford's Epstein, currently based in London, who did a tight set of country tunes. Ok, if country-rock is your thing. But I preferred Dusty Sound System who were on next, and took a stronger hold on the crowd.

They oozed out a charm from somewhere in the 70s, of a Bob Dylan or Neil Young era, yet wrapped in a modern, suburbanite jacket. They were thoughtful and felt-good, even if after a while some tunes sounded samey.

A guy I spoke to was in a band that had played with Baby Shambles. He admitted, "It's hard enough just to be on stage and they're good at that. But the challenge for new-bands is always to go in more than one direction, or similar chord-set."

Last on was the Hazey-Janes, who I could kinda tell were from Dundee.

Their punchy, scraping and penetrating indy-rock was a little bit darker, but better than most.

In fact, the only thing the night really needed, was a few more numbers in the crowd. Worth a look if you like hearing something new.