by Emeralds.

Very psychedelic and shoegazey, with shades of M83 but a bit more euphoric. It's like being hooked up to an MDMA drip for an hour or so.

On edit: I see it's getting very good notices on Anydecentmusic.com.

http://www.anydecentmusic.com/review/1871/Does-it-Look-Like-Im-Here.aspx

is The Dead's 'Road Trips volume 3 episode 3' - the complete 15-May-1970 Fillmore East concert, both acoustic and electric sets.

Acoustic set
- Don't Ease Me In
- I Know You Rider
- Ain't It Crazy (The Rub)
- Long Black Limousine
- New Speedway Boogie
- Deep Elem Blues
- The Ballad of Casey Jones
- Silver Threads and Golden Needles
- Black Peter
- Friend of the Devil
- Uncle John's Band
- She's Mine
- Katie Mae
- A Voice from On High

Electric set:
- Casey Jones
- St. Stephen
- That's It for the Other One
- Cryptical Envelopment
- Drums
- The Other One
- Cryptical Envelopment
- Cosmic Charlie
- New Minglewood Blues
- China Cat Sunflower
- I Know You Rider
- Cumberland Blues
- Hard to Handle
- Morning Dew
- Dire Wolf
- Good Lovin'
- Dark Star
- St. Stephen
- Not Fade Away
- Turn On Your Love Light

but I appreciate my taste might be a bit too 'specialist' for some :-)

... The ArchAndroid - she's totally bonkers - but to my ears, this sounds like a classic.

is a rip roaring romp through the Traditional American Blue Collar Songbook and jolly good for it, too.

so it might as well be me.

plus The Foundling/Mary Gauthier.As for films on DVD I presume,A Prophet and Zombieland,the latter a gritty French prison flick the other just a right good hoot.If you enjoy Mumford & Sons you will probably like Laura Marling's I Speak Because I Can.

is my album of the year, great blue eyed soul with swagger, and a few moments that show Plan B's other side as a rapper. Stay Too Long is like The Stones jamming with The Clash with Smokey Robinson on vocals. One of those singles that you have to replay as soon as it finished.

I'm also rather partial to Kate Nash. And to all those of you who might go...urgh...I put it to you to approach her from a different angle from the usual 'Lily Allen rip off' stuff and instead think Kirsty Maccoll. I swear if she'd turned up 30 years ago she'd be on Stiff Records.

It's not this year's but the last Jamie T album is pretty damn good too. If ever you liked Strummer and Jones in all their different bands then you will find something to like here.

(Hmmm. I moved out to the West Country from North London last year. And what do you know, my favourite albums of the past year have a decidedly London leaning.....)

Oh and the Laura Marling album is pretty fine too. Sits alongside the Mumford & Sons album very nicely.

....are my faves so far. Brothers and Mojo being the respective album titles.

Mojo

Stornoway 'Beachcomber's Windowsill' - very charming, pastoral and summer breezy.

The Hold Steady 'Heaven Is Whenever'- very enjoyable. Lighter an fresher since losing the moustachio'd fella, been playing this a lot.

... Bingo! by Steve Miller - very disappointed - chugging, blues by numbers, dadrock - it sounds like he's used the "bounce" preset on my daughter's Casio keyboard as his backing band.

may I recommend Avi Buffalo? Similar sunshine-drenched laid-back pop. Some beautiful melodies in there.

Also, I must implore you to buy the Joanna Newsom album, because it's simply incredible.

for Tom Petty - Mojo.

However something that has caught me unawares and is totally beguiling is Villagers - Becoming a Jackal. Really high quality tunes, great sunny pop music that will put a smile on your face. This should be massive but will probably disappear without a trace. Contender for album of year (and I already have John Grant and the National discs).

Based on what you have already bought and enjoyed, may I suggest the following:

The Album Leaf - A Chorus Of Storytellers
Bonnie "Prince" Billy & The Cairo Gang - The Wonder Show Of The World
Eels - End Times
Efterklang - Magic Chairs
Jonsi - Go
Massive Attack - Heligoland
Race Horses - Goodbye Falkenburg
She & Him - Volume Two
Tunng - ...And Then We Saw Land

Those would be my recommendations anyway.

Is my latest love

Also The Besnard Lakes, Janelle Monae

Love and its Opposite. Fab.

My offspring gave me that and the Steve Mason album for Fathers' Day and I'd be hard-pressed to say which I'm enjoying more.

LCD soundsystem
John Grant
Band of Horses
Ariel Pink
Midlake ( i prefer the new lp)

and Clogs featuring the guy from the national and the lady from my brightest diamond.

The "Northern Skies" single is a classic, can't wait for the new album. All their albums are superb but the new one promises to top the lot. Mancunian legends.

Fopp in Glasgow has some storming old jazz - so I assume that Rose St will, too. I have picked up Oliver Nelson live in San Francisco and Count Basie at Birdland for £3 each.

They also have remastered Stones CDs - London Years (3 CDs of early years up to 1970 ish) for £10, Sticky Fingers for £6, both of which bear repeated listening.

John Grant is really good, the new Okkervill River CD is good, Polar Bear is good too. The Soul Jazz Krautrock compilation is interesting, and Fopp also has a range of "5 CDs in a cardboard case for £12" from artists like Dr John, Aretha Franklin, Cheap Trick, Jesus & Mary Chain, J J Cale - they are all good value.

Wake Up The Nation

Joint favourite of the year so far (with Mumford & Sons)

spoil yourself with the debut album from conjoined twins Evelyn Evelyn. Album of the year. (They cover Love Will Tear Us Apart, but this is a song called You Only Want Me cos You Want My Sister)

Although this is technically a re-issue, as it only appeared as a tiny private pressing run in 1969, it can almost be considered a first release. And grateful thanks go to those nice people at Universal Sound/Soul Jazz for resurrecting it, becuase by any standards, this is an absolute KILLER album.
It's deep jazz, but it's not dense or difficult. It's as light as air, with McNeill's flute floating and weaving its lines through the 40 minutes. Simply enchanting stuff.

Red Sparowes , The Fear Is Excruciating But Therein Lies The Answer - meaty post rock, like a chunkier Mogwai

Titus Andronicus, The Monitor - barnstorming epic punk (loosely - the final track is fourteen minutes long and features a bagpipe solo), vaguely based on the American Civil War. Not as "blue collar" as Gaslight Anthem (also highly recommended) but just as indebted to Springsteen and Bragg

65daysofstatic, We Were Exploding Anyway - a bit more electronic than their previous stuff, the album they really needed to make to avoid getting stuck in a rut. Features vocals from Robert Smith, Cureheads!

Delphic, Acolyte - like New Order jamming on New Order tunes round at New Order's house, as a wiser man than me said

Voice Of The Seven Thunders, s/t - really good psychedelic rock from the guys behind Voice Of The Seven Woods, a lot more electric and heavier than that band

also playing the new Lissie album quite a bit at work. Can't make up my mind about it - there's something there, some of it is really good, but other parts just feel hollow. Worth investigating at the very least

I should also note that I've been typing this listening to the Emeralds album mentioned above, and it's sounding very nice

Paul Weller
John Grant
and
The National.

And if you like electro/80s dance stuff the new Goldfrapp album is a complete winner.

Let The hard Times Roll

In shops on Monday. I'm shameless, me.

is by far my favourite album of the year. He's got together with a bunch of top flamenco musicians and made a record that goes just perfectly with the hot weather.

Thanks for all the tips folk!

Turns out my boss decided that at 5pm as I was exiting the office was a good opportunity to put the world to rights for the next hour, so by the time I was in town Fopp was sadly shut.

However, it means on the weekend I'm going to end up spending a bloody fortune!

Thanks again people.

The new Ed Harcourt is worth getting. You can check it out on his myspace:
http://www.myspace.com/edharcourt

The teenage boy inside me absolutely loves this video. The old man outside nods along to a great tune.