One of the 'others' on this year's Mercury Music list, Lou Rhodes represented the folky end of the spectrum. And she represented it beautifully - this is a gorgeous little album. Louise Rhodes is the former lead singer of Lamb, which was more electronica than it was folk (think Portishead). Here, she lets her full Suzanne Vega out, and makes, well, a classic English folk album. It doesn't always peak - there is occasionally more earnestness than pleasure - but when it does peak (as on the title track), there is a fantastic magnetism which must derive from her mesmeric past. The instrumentation is acoustic and traditional - folk percussion, violins, elegantly plucked guitar - under a lovely floaty voice, full of character. Beloved One is clearly an album made because she wanted to - simple melodies, great lyrics and a winsome vulnerability.

ACE rating 8/10

Dylan's first album since 2001's Love and Theft, Modern Times has been widely awaited, but mainly by Dylan fans. Love and Theft was held to be a pretty good Dylan album, with most of them being held up to the standards of Blood on the Tracks, but there is some extreme myopia involved. Dylan gets cut a lot of slack because of who he used to be, but Modern Times is being compared favourably to the previous album. Let's put it this way: if your Dylan experience was between 1965 and 1975, don't bother with Modern Times - he's not the same man, he's not the same singer. If however, you have stayed with him through the 80s and 90s, and got to know who he is now, rather than who he was, you will find Modern Times a very decent piece of work. Workingman's Blues No 2 is classic Dylan, and he does sound, everywhere, as if he is having fun, with a lovely, relaxed feel (probably as a result of him producing the album himself). Not a bad album to start with if you fancy dipping into new Dylan.

ACE rating 7/10

It's something of an event when one of the world's best singer-songwriters releases a new album. Not Dylan - it's not the 1960s. Nightcrawler is Pete Yorn's third, and comes on the back of two must-haves - Musicforthemorningafter and Day I Forgot. But, it is something of a mixed bag. There are some standout songs on the album, but three of them have been released elsewhere - on the Spider Man soundtrack, a tribute album for Warren Zevon, and a song dedicated to Jeff Buckley that's been doing the rounds for a while now. Each is a great song, thankfully, as the 'great song' quota on Nightcrawler comes up a little short. There is the as-good-as-anything-he's-ever-released For You, a song which is perfect Yorn, straight rock, but with a huge hook (he's assisted by Dave Grohl on drums too). But, there is too much Yorn-by-the-numbers elsewhere, too much coasting - Vampyre, Policies, How Do You Go On? And, unfortunately, there is the awful Georgie Boy, a dreadful Kinks pastiche. This is the third best Pete Yorn album; any Pete Yorn album is worth your attention, but best to start with one of the first two.

ACE rating 6/10