One of the finest examples of indie-rock to come out of Bradford's reverberant music melange are hoping their next venture into the murky cut-throat world of the music business will pay off.

The Hoover Dams, who have recently started life with new singer Chris Gates, are currently signed up with Band Republic - an internet-based record label which is run entirely by its members.

In the true spirit of the democratisation proliferating the Web 2.0 revolution, real music lovers are able to vote for what the label releases as well as when, where and how it is released.

The Dams are currently in what could be described as a competition with several other bands vying to have their single come out in May.

"I think we are currently second," Hoover Dams bassist David Shevyn tells me. "We were first for ages when they were charging for people to vote, but since they made it free some of the other bands have made some ground on us."

Anyone is allowed to cast a vote, for free, until Wednesday, April 2. If the Bradford lot come out on top, it will mean they will be able to release their first single.

Danny said: "Obviously as a band we are all about live performances, because that is what we love to do, so the most important thing is if we get a record released we will be able to get better gigs in better places.

"But its just that first step on the ladder, because I think the other two bands who have won single releases with Band Republic have gone on to get signed by another record label."

Not that this would be the first time Hoover Dams have tasted the limelight of industry success.

Last year they were hand-picked as a headline act by legendary events promoter Harvey Goldsmith as part of Channel 4 show, Get Your Act Together.

That, however, was while the band were fronted by Liam Hall, who left the fray at the end of the summer.

Since then, the band have gone on to recruit Oldham-born Chris, who now currently lives in Idle, and have gone back to gigging with fervent regularity.

"We held auditions for a long time," said David.

"We spent around six months looking and saw loads of different people, but as soon as we saw Chris we thought he was brilliant.

"The thing about Chris's voice is that it's more exciting so it makes our music better. You have got to find the right person who wants to do what you want to do as well."

At the moment, however, David believes it's too early to see how the arrival of Chris will affect the sound of the band as a whole.

He said: "We wrote all the music and the lyrics before Chris came, so it's early days in that sense - to be able to see his influences.

"But he sings differently to Liam, who sang very low, whereas Chris sings much higher.

"He sings more like the person who writes the songs, so it kind of suits it better."

  • Hoover Dams will be playing live at the Cardigan Arms, in Leeds, on Saturday, the Gasworks, Kiss MeI'm Famous, on April 19 and The Library, in Leeds, on April 26. To register with Band Republic and vote for free, e-mail luke@bandrepublic.com. Alternatively, you can go to hooverdams.com or myspace.com/hooverdams for more information.