Eef Barzelay was the lead singer and songwriter in Clem Snide, a kind of indie alt-country band who made 5 sublime studio albums and a handful of other releases. However, Clem Snide was always solo Barzelay plus some support musicians, and having branched out with a 'solo' album, Bitter Honey in 2006, and then releasing a soundtrack album (Rocket Science), Barzelay has exchanged one band name that always needed explaining for his own, given name. What he does so superbly is craft quite incredible lyrics, with an ability to balance bitter, sweet and achingly beautiful, and then fit them to songs that enhance every emotion. Rolling Stone captured it succinctly when they said, "Lyrically, he can be as cool as jazz, as earnest as folk, as sorrowful as country, as goofy as pop and as ironic as indie rock, sometimes all in one song." Lose Big adds full instrumentation to the songs - it is a whole level above Bitter Honey, which followed a proper 'solo' sound. Basically, Lose Big is a Clem Snide album, freed from the constraints of genre. It is a lovely thing, full of texture, feel and touch, and it cannot be recommended highly enough.

ACE rating 9/10

Alabama 3 are a band from Brighton who sound like some ultra-modern Southern Gospel psych hip-hop Delta Blues band with an abiding passion for Johnny Cash. Most famous for providing the instantly-recognisable theme to The Sopranos (Woke Up This Morning, which actually details an abusive relationship), this compilation's title, Hits and Exit Wounds, is a clear reference to that profile - the band haven't enjoyed many 'hits', although they have enjoyed huge critical success over the course of 6 studio albums and remarkable live sets. With a profile a little like Fun Lovin' Criminals (and similar themes), the 8-piece band's fusion of styles, and often humorous lyrics, makes them a compelling listen. The band's first single Ain't Going To Goa took a wonderfully cynical view of backpackers - 'fools lying on a Third World beach'. Hits and Exit Wounds takes a fair slice through the 6 albums, and forms a great way in for any potential fan of the band. Some songs will divide opinion (Ska'd For Life, for example), but these 18 songs include at least a dozen that you'll fall for deeply - the pulsating bass, wit, country and blues mix and the hypnotic rhythms that contribute to this band's unique sound.

ACE rating 8/10

The Shins and The Strokes are some pretty fine comparisons for a band that has, so far, only released two EPs. This debut album more than holds its head up in that company (it's a more listenable disc overall than Wincing The Night Away); in fact, the band sound closer to new indie favourites Delta Spirit (or, on a couple of songs, Band of Horses), in their loose-limbed, largely acoustic, musicality. The Berkeley, Californian band will be huge, among those people who enjoy the pop rock strand running from the Beatles through 70s Californian singer-songwriters, and the alternative indie scene today. At song 6, Waiting for a War, the band completely hit their stride - hook-laden bouncy and mesmerising in the way that The Shins occasionally manage. There is not a mediocre song in the 11, not a moment that invites a 'skip', even though the band switch moods and styles breezily and often. An excellent debut.

ACE rating 8/10