THE HORRORS
Strange House Loog
***

Knives have been out for Southend quintet The Horrors since they burst from the crypt in early 2006 looking like a bunch of highly styled Dickensian dilettante murderers. Public school boys who looked so good, it was said, could not make any music of substance. Camp and driven, Strange House knocks that idea into an early goth-garage grave, distilling the band's obsessions - obscure 1960s psych rock and surf, a touch of Velvet Underground - and (mostly) spewing out something fresh and vigorous. Spider Webb's ancient valve organ and Joshua Von Grimm's stabbing guitars are the twin stakes around which they build their spooky sounds. And in frontman Faris Rotter they have a genuine new talent, who is at his best on the glorious Count in Fives. The theatrics can become wearing (the cover of Screaming Lord Sutch's Jack the Ripper), but on the whole this is welcome, snappy noise. Paul McNamee  www.thehorrors.co.uk 

THE HANNA SISTERS
About Time All Media Entertainments
**

Prettified pop is everywhere these days, but The Hanna Sisters put their own particular spin on it with their debut album. The breezy, happy veneer of Take the Ferry is given a surprisingly baroque twist that, if exploited a touch more, might have set them apart from the throng more forcibly. As it is, this is a homage to The Corrs, but without the benefit of Andrea's distinctive vocals. Strong production values and a healthy appetite for freewheeling melody lines aren't enough to overcome the lyrical weaknesses inherent in the cliche-ridden Princes Port and My Angel Knows. Gentle infusions of whistle, piano and violin go some way towards carving an identity for the trio but, ultimately, they get lost amid even more genteel Hammond organ. Mildly appealing. Siobhán Long  www.thehannasisters.net

HANNU
Worms in My Piano Osaka
****

Just as most critics can't discuss Sigur Rós without mentioning the word "glacial", Finland's Hannu will no doubt have some geographical cliche (bets are off on "atmospheric") hoisted upon him sooner or later. Why? Because this is very much an album of place, conjuring up snowdrift landscapes and sonic stories dictated by the weather. It makes perfect sense that its creator doubles as a filmmaker; Worms in My Piano could be an instrumental score for nature. Even Winter Song owes a debt to Bernard Hermann's soundtracks. Xylophones twinkle like ice on branches (Haapavesi), fuzzy static mimics the wind (Metsa) and moods are captured with spare electronics and layered arrangements. Given the lazy pace, these songs are the ultimate hibernation lullabies. All credit to Dublin label Osaka for discovering such a gem. Sinéad Gleeson www.osaka.ie

OF MONTREAL
Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? Polyvinyl
***

Fans of epic indie-pop grandeur should already have made the acquaintance of Kevin Barnes and his gang of psychedelic dreamers thanks to 2005's Sunlandic Twins breakthrough release. Throughout the band's decade-long tenure and seven album innings, Barnes has been the lone Of Montreal constant, whose songs are an engaging mishmash of brilliance and occasional flashes of whimsy. Album number eight takes its cues from the depression and breakdown that Barnes suffered after moving kith and kin from their Athens, Georgia base to Norway. But instead of wallowng in the trauma and melancholy like many others would, Barnes dances his way out of the dumps, turning in an album loaded with joy and glee. Sure, the lyrics are about how much his life sucks, but the grooves which propel A Sentence of Sorts in Kongsvinger, the fantastic Bunny Aint No Kind of Rider and the furious, occasionally meandering 12-minute new wave epic Past Is a Grotesque Animal buck such sentiments.  Jim Carroll www.ofmontreal.net

VARIOUS
Ballads of the Books Chemikal Underground
***

In 2002, Scottish band Idlewild collaborated with Scots bard Edwin Morgan. The result led to Idlewild singer Roddy Woomble contacting other Scottish writers and poets (including Ian Rankin, AL Kennedy, Louise Welsh, John Burnside and Don Paterson) with a view to a cross-cultural project wherein the writers pen the lyrics and the musicians (including Norman Blake, Karine Polwart, Alasdair Roberts, James Yorkston, Vashti Bunyan and Malcolm Middleton) come up with the melodies and music. The end product is a highly inventive collaborative effort, musically veering more towards roots than rock, lyrically a cut or 10 above the usual doggeral. Why something of a similar nature can't be achieved in Ireland is baffling. Over to you, writers, rock bands, poets and artists. Tony Clayton-Lea

WILLY MASON
If the Ocean Gets Rough Virgin
****

We weren't convinced when we first heard this plummy, guitar-picking brat from Martha's Vineyard. He seemed too much like the privileged college kid playing the spring-break hippie, and his eco-protest lyrics seemed cliched and naive. Hearing his second album, however, we are pleasantly surpised to find that young Mr Mason has matured into a credible singer-songwriter who has learnt to use the influences gleaned from his parents' record collections to forge a voice and vision of his own. He's also learned to write better, more resonant lyrics on the antiwar opener, Gotta Keep Walking, the father figuring-out The World That I Wanted, and the family relationship ballad When the River Moves On. There are still a few toe-curling lines about "chasing their tomorrows", but these new songs mostly tell poignant tales and deal out eminently listenable life lessons. A young folk master in the making? We think Willy's passed his sophomore test with flying colours. Kevin Courtney www.willymason.com

JOSS STONE
Introducing Joss Stone EMI
***

With two successful albums, the young soul singer from Devon hardly needs any introduction. Still, with her stock rising steadily outside the UK, this third album will serve as an international calling card. On her debut album, The Soul Sessions, Stone proved she could authentically cover vintage r'n'b; she watered things down a bit on her second album in a bid to move out of the retro ghetto and onto the coffee tables of the world. Amy Winehouse proved that you could sound old-fashioned yet totally of the moment, and Introducing . . . goes for that blend of old gold and bright, modern chintz. Vinnie Jones provides an existential tough-guy intro, and Stone delivers the vocal goods on Headturner, Tell Me 'Bout It, Put Your Hands on Me and Bruised But Not Broken, swinging deftly between Gladys Knight and Beverly Knight. It's telling that Stone chose Common and Lauryn Hill as guest vocalists, two singers who have in the past refused to sell their souls. Joss may not quite reach that perfect interface of pop's past and present, but at least her soul is spirited. Kevin Courtney  www.jossstone.com

RICHARD SWIFT
Dressed Up for the Letdown Strictly Canadian Records
****

There's an irresistible sense of playfulness and gentle lunacy running through this impressive album debut by a highly touted Minnesota-based songwriter with a penchant for writing both intriguing and inventive lyrics. The fact that the CD is divided into "two sides" as on vinyl gives a clue to Swift's inspirations, and his powerful poppy and quirky songs tip their hats to the likes of The Beatles, The Kinks and Marc Bolan. Really, though, his zany baroque ballads have most in common with Rufus Wainwright, both in their elaborate construction and in their dramatically exaggerated lyrics, as in the title song, The Million Dollar Baby, Buildings in America and Kisses for the Misses. Well worth investigating. Joe Breen  www.richardswift.us