The latest releases reviewed

PAUL WELLER
22 Dreams
Island
****
At this stage, Paul Weller is a bona- fide statesman of contemporary rock. The fact that he just turned 50 is something of a landmark, with the pre-release hype of this double album pointing to nothing less than a solo career highlight. The hype is correct; for all his musical flaws and mistakes (from the insipid Style Council to his fallow mid-part solo career), this record sees Weller pretty much at the height of his powers. Its focused mix-and-match approach (ballads, rockers, pop, folk, jazz, spoken word) tethers itself to what can only be described as a newfound quest for excellence. Songs such as Black River, Echoes Around the Sun, Where're Ye Goand Night Lightsshowcase a geezer who is clearly settling in for a long Indian summer, beer in hand and feet in slippers. This doesn't mean that Weller is cruising; quite a few tracks are the epitome of someone in touch - often disconcertingly so - with what makes him and his life tick. TONY CLAYTON-LEA
Download tracks: Where're Ye Go, Black River, Echoes Around the Sun

JEFF MARTIN
Spoons - Remixes, Collaborations & Interpretations
Casino Gravity
****
Initially just as an experiment, Jeff Martin sent his excellent 2004 Spoonsalbum to a diverse and talented selection of musicians, requesting their interpretations and remixes. Impressed with the results, the Dublin multi-instrumentalist and Halfset member decided to release these compositions. What's striking is how the artists manage to stamp their own distinctive styles on the songs while preserving the spirit of Martin's work. Minotaur Shock makes feathers fly on the pulsating Shuttlecock, Dave Pajo adds a glint of menace to Anyone's Pocket, and Dublin Guitar Quartet pare Augustine back to its delicate bones. With further contributions from the likes of The High Llamas, Decal, Mice Parade and Jeniferever, this serves as a highly satisfying stop-gap before the new Halfset album drops in the autumn and Martin's next solo outing in 2009.  www.jeffmartinmusic.com BRIAN KEANE
Download tracks: Shuttlecock, Balancing Act

HEARTCORE
Wildbirds & Peacedrums
Leaf
*****
This Swedish duo's debut album is a doozy. Part ritual, part improvisation, and incorporating jazz, blues and pop idioms, vocalist Mariam Wallentin and percussionist Andreas Werliin's charged collection of songs is astonishing in its dynamic spareness. Wallentin's vocals (a mixture of croon, chant, drone and ululation) form the melodic line of each song, around which Werliin wraps a rhythmic and minimal array of instrumentation and percussion (zither, glockenspiel, drums, piano and handclaps) to create compositions that soar and swoop like free-form improvisations but develop and deliver like carefully wrought songs, filled with energy, violence, intelligence and emotion. From the ecstatic gospel of Birdand the bouncing rockabilly of The Way Things Go, to the primal pop of Doubt/Hopeand the bluesy ballad Pony, Wildbirds & Peacedrumsis a startlingly original album. www.posteverything.com/leaf JOCELYN CLARKE
Download tracks: Bird, Doubt/Hope

FRED
Go God Go
RCM Music
***
Fred come out of the traps with a hot fire in their bellies. Skyscrapers, their incendiary single, is currently distorting the airwaves into the oddest and most engaging shapes. Echoes of The Frank and Walters seep into Running, a perfect counter-attack to anyone with Donnie Darkopretensions with its spit-polished Beach Boys-esque harmonies and rabidly intense self- belief. But after that, Fred'senergy curiously, gradually dissipates, detouring for a tincture of Abba ( Good One) here, a touch of Mull Historical Society there. Still, there are enough blood, guts, sweat, tears and just the slightest hint of David Byrne's convulsing gyrations to make you want to hear them in all three dimensions. Definitely a taster worth savouring past the first biteful.  www.myspace.com/fredtheband SIOBHÁN LONG
Download tracks: Skyscrapers, Fear

LIQUID LIQUID
Slip In and Out of Phenomenon
Domino
****
You can trace the DNA of The Rapture, LCD Soundsystem and hundreds of other punk-funk buccaneers back to New York's Liquid Liquid. In the early 1980s, these four downtown kids were the standard bearers for a sound that was both fluid and sinuous. By stripping funk right back to its bassline, amplifying the percussive thrust of the tracks, and adding a range of intoxicating chants and squawks to those layers, Liquid Liquid made music that was more than alright for grooving. While the fanbase may have been small during Liquid Liquid's existence, their music proved hugely influential, with Grandmaster Flash famously "borrowing" the bassline from Cavernfor White Lines. Other retrospectives of the band's sound are both hard (and expensive) to come by, so Slip In and Out of Phenomenon'sclutch of EPs, live tracks and unheard studio recordings are a timely reminder of Liquid Liquid's smarts.  www.dominorecordco.com JIM CARROLL
Download tracks: Cavern, Optimo, Bellhead

THE FUTUREHEADS
This Is Not the World
Nul Records
***
After being dropped by 679 Records in 2006, this Sunderland four-piece bravely formed their own label to release this third album. This Is Not the Worldlacks the immediacy of their debut and is rawer than their "difficult" sophomore. But look beyond the missing trademark four-part harmonies and catchy choruses, and you'll discover their most mature and hard-edged work to date. The opening salvo of The Beginning of the Twistand Walking Backwardswill make you sit up and pay attention. The adrenaline rush never fades but, as the album progresses, a lack of variety in pace and structure will have you wondering if you've accidentally pressed the repeat button. It's time this solid band, who stubbornly walk the line between punk and pop, added something new to the mix.  www.thefutureheads.co.uk BRIAN KEANE
Download tracks: Walking Backwards, Broke Up the Time