Andrew Bird is one of the under-sung musical geniuses of our time. While it is clear that more people got into Jeff Buckley after his tragic untimely departure, here is an artist with Buckley's vision, voice and an even greater musicality. He writes songs that make your heart ache, that stimulate the intellect, and that reveal an immense artist beneath. Soldier On is actually an 8 track EP (initially sold on his European tour), collecting some rarities, remixes and some really rather intriguing changes of direction. Opener, The Trees Were Mistaken shows a rockier edge than he's shown before, and it works wonderfully, like a great Iron and Wine song smartened up. The other standout song, How You Gonna Keep 'Em Down on the Farm, which originally appeared on the weirdly wonderful compilation Song of America, is a melancholic thing that recalls Mark Kozelek or Damien Jurado - it recalls the way that Buckley interpreted Strange Fruit, investing it with soul and just the right level of modern edge. Soldier On is all the Andrew Bird we have to go on until the next full album, but it provides more than simple sustenance.

ACE rating 9/10

Some fans consider themselves Beck 'experts', which tells you something about the complexity of this man's 12 previous albums and the direction changes that accompany each one. Modern Guilt sees Beck double up his own ideas with those of in vogue producer Danger Mouse. And, for those of us less 'expert' in Beck, it is a welcome return to a reason to be interested in him - a reason to buy your first Beck album in an age. 2005's Guero was an undistinguished listen, and 2006's The Information more gimmick than album... Danger Mouse has a distinct style, and sharpens up Beck's act considerably, amplifying the interest level. From an album that recalls his best (Mellow Gold, Odelay), Walls and the title track stand out - they are among the best tracks of his career. Modern Guilt takes the funkier Beck, infuses it with a delicious 60s rock feel, and remixes the noughties into it. It is short, discrete chunks of the kind of genius the rest of us used to like about Beck.

ACE rating 8/10

Earlimart have been around for a while, never really troubling the charts with their prolific releases (Hymn and Her follows less than a year after Mentor Tormentor). Based in LA, the band has been gradually whittled down to (appropriately for an album called Hymn and Her) Aaron Espinoza and Ariana Murray. The sound has softened from the more Elliott Smith mixed with Pixies-like earlier days - the sound is now more spaced out, like a Californian Belle and Sebastian, or a more feminine Death Cab For Cutie. The band has never really grown into its early promise, when they were mentioned as Next Big Things a lot. The problem, on Hymn and Her, is that there is competence and consistency where something more exciting could and should have stood - Espinoza, despite being at the front for longer in the band's history, seems distinctly underwhelmed throughout the songs he sings.

ACE rating 7/10