Arcade Fire - Cold Wind/Brazil (Rough Trade)
First new material since the Funeral album shows that this band are going to be more than just one album of brilliance. The lead track is used in the TV show Six Feet Under and the B side cover of Brazil was brilliantly played live when we saw them in Bristol. Buy one if you see one, its extremely limited. Packaged in a fantastic sleeve and pressed on clear vinyl. Pure art class.

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Ain’t No Easy Way (Echo)
I can remember when these boys were Jesus and Marychain looka-and-soundalikes. What happened?! They seem to have gone down a bluesy/country route with their sound that Robert Plant would kill for and its pretty damn good! Best use of an mouth organ heard for a while makes this an excellent single.

Bonnie “Prince” Billy &  Sweeny - l Gave You(Domino)
Not the best output from the prolific Billy boy. Perhaps we’re expecting too much following his majestic Palace Greatest Hits and Master & Everyone albums? Basically Billy, a guitar and what sounds like a cheap keyboard to lines such as “I gave you a tree and you didn’t embrace it” Hmm. Must do better.

New Rhodes - From the Beginning (Moshi Moshi)
Promising start, sounding a bit like former label mates the Bloc Party until the vocal kicks in then it just becomes a bit of a foot-tapper lacking any real hook or direction. There’s a few records around like this at the moment, nice enough, but nothing special. Shame really, their first single was a corker.

Hal - Don’t Come Running (Rough Trade)
Is this the fourth single from the album already? Another slab of summery close harmony guitar pop which you think would be on the radio, but isn’t. Not sure what the Dublin 3 piece have to do to get a hit when the Kaiser Chiefs seem to be able to reproduce the same song every time and go top 10?