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Donkey

They might have lost their bassist, but the Brazilian band haven’t lost their mojo on their second album. Consistently one of the best live bands around, their electro party music is still intact (think of it as a polish to the first album rather than a sideways step). While nothing has quite the bounce of ‘Alala’, ‘Off The Hook’, or ‘Let’s Make Love And Listen To Death From Above’, there’s still more than enough vim here to see them bring their catsuited joy to festivals for years to come.

Foxboro Hot Tubs

Stop Drop & Roll!!!

Yes, it’s those pesky Green Day ’scamps’ operating under yet another pseudonym. In the wake of the massive global success of American Idiot, they’ve chosen to write a love letter to Sixties beat-pop rather than taking their cue from the post-Dickies US punk scene that has defined their day job. Read more

The Zutons

You Can Do Anything

Third album from the Liverpudlians and their first since Mark Ronson and Amy Winehouse made ‘Valerie’ a radio playlist standard. Producer George Drakoulias adds extra ‘beef’ to their sound while the arrival of new guitarist Paul Molloy gives their sound more bite and the band a renewed purpose. Read more

Scarlet Johansen

Wherever I Lay My Head

The signs were not good - ‘actress makes a record’ - but this album beautifully wrongfoots all expectations by being almost entirely made up of Tom Waits covers, which is not exactly going for the easy win. In tone and texture it sits somewhere between Mazzy Star and Cocteau Twins and, while not a ‘belter’ of a singer, Johansen’s vocals are breathy enough to carry it all off. Read more

Lykke Li

Youth Novels

From Stockholm, this debut album by the worryingly-precocious 22-year-old is a minimalist treat. Unlike countrywoman Robyn, she shrugs off all pop leanings to create something that works more as a series of mood pieces than a radio-friendly run of singles. Read more

Radiohead

The Best Of

After last year’s lovely ‘evil bear face’ USB of all their Parlophone albums comes the inevitable post-In Rainbows (or should that be pre-In Rainbows?) compilation. Radiohead went through three periods - 1) The Rubbish Years (i.e. Pablo Honey), 2) The Imperial Years (i.e. The Bends and OK Computer), and 3) The We’ve Discovered Warp Records Years (i.e. Kid A onwards). Here is as good an overview of those three distinct eras as you’re likely to get. Read more

Alphabeat

This Is Alphabeat

Unapologetically pop, this Danish six-piece’s debut is joyful on every level. The mood is definitely ‘up’ and, in an age of achingly-dull pale indie boys in vest in Trilbies, this is A Good Thing. The opening song (the self-mythologising ‘Fantastic Six’) sounds like it could be the backing track to learning An Important Life Lesson on Sesame Street (this is a compliment). Interestingly the singles (’Fascination’ and ‘10,000 Nights’) are far from the best things here. The fight for intelligent pop powers ahead.

Portishead

Third

As Adam & Joe once said: What is it with Portishead only showing up when a recession is looming? Dummy emerged in 1994 and might have sprung from the same paranoid mindset as Massive Attack and Tricky, but it existed entirely in a world of its own imagining. Read more

Gabriella Cilmi

Sweet About Me 

Of course if you really want a proper Amy Winehouse clone, then look no further than Xenomania’s latest offspring. This is Winehouse with heavy leanings towards pop rather than the paparazzi. This Italian/Australian singer recently sung the Martha & The Muffins classic ‘Echo Beach’ (for the ITV series of the same name) and is set to be the face of Boots No.17 cosmetics range. Teasingly soulful and laden in radio-friendly Xenomania production, this is one to watch.

Laura Marling

Alas I Cannot Swim

Laura Marling is the antidote to 2008’s surge of Amy Winehouse clones (hello Duffy and Adele). If this year is a three horse race between them, Marling is in a paddock of her own. A Joni Mitchell in the making, there is a creeping and gentle darkness to her voice. Tracks such as ‘Ghosts’ and ‘Tap At My Window’ are heartfelt and wistful laments, carefully twinned with a knack for melody that belies her young age.

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