One of the most refreshing rock albums in a while, Mission Control is the second by Athens, Georgia trio The Whigs. To record their first on a shoestring, the band infamously bought equipment on eBay, and then resold it when they were finished. This second album, on Dave Matthews' label ATO, is a feast for the ears. Like some glorious Creation mash-up of Oasis and Teenage Fanclub (think Bandwagonesque and What's The Story), the band bring delicious melody and perfectly judged scale to their sound. The band change around a few styles (including one Clash soundalike), but each brings a new facet that makes Mission Control such a sustainably great listen. Parker Gispert is a fantastic lead man - combining great rhythm riffs with a well-developed sense of dynamics, on top of Julian Dorio's excellent drumming core. You'll hear the best bits of bands like INXS, Buffalo Tom, and the Hoodoo Gurus in this short disc, but The Whigs are like none of those bands. This is good, clean fun rock, bouncing its way between garage, punk and anthemic - just listen to I Got Ideas for a sense of the energy. REM's hometown has pitched up another big hitter - The Whigs have to be huge. Album of the week.

ACE rating 9/10

Six Organs of Admittance is effectively a side-project for Ben Chasny, a guitarist who plies his trade in several indie bands. However, it is clearly not an occasional affair, as Shelter from the Ash is his tenth album in ten years. His music so far has been primarily acoustic guitar-based hypnotic indie, with a droning soundscape characterising his sound. Shelter from the Ash takes a step forward in listenability and mesmeric intensity, and a step further away from the experimental. It even introduces electric guitar to great effect on a couple of songs, reflecting a great sense of confidence in the underlying songs. Strangled Road is one of the best songs Chasny has recorded, a dark Iron and Wine-like song that atypically builds on a verse-chorus-verse structure. Elsewhere, there are great dollops of the kind of intensity that reward the Pavement listener. This is still a long way from X Factor, and it repays attention - over a few listens, it starts to make a lot more sense. However, it is hard to escape the feeling that Chasny's not quite the guitarist he thinks he is. Shelter suggests there is a songwriter in there when the trills and fretboard runs are removed, and those pieces are the ones that glimmer.

ACE rating 7/10

A slightly ironic title for an album that harks so successfully to the past. In The Future is the second album by Canadian psychedelic rock band Black Mountain, and it delivers huge swathes of the kind of riff-heavy rock Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and Black Sabbath once swagger-stomped across the world's stages. However, it is modulated with a touch of modern psych - think Mars Volta or Wolfmother, and maybe a hint of My Morning Jacket. After Stormy High kicks off with its Blackmore-like riffing and deep Hammond organ thickness, the album moves off in a dozen different directions (sometimes in the same song - Bright Lights, a 16-minute epic is one of those early 70s songs that seem made either for rock festivals or headphone wearers). Second track Angels is a country-tinged rocker that disarms after the pelvic thrust of the opener, but order is restored when Tyrants' Sabbath assault starts. Black Mountain are clearly happiest where riffs are meaty and dark, but they keep the album interesting with several changes of pace. There is a sense that the good stuff is loaded in early into the album - after Stay Free, the album starts to feel like a second side in classic 70s fashion. Which is entirely appropriate.

ACE rating 7/10