Since the end of their ties with Parlophone, Radiohead have been following their own path, to the extent of releasing their new album only via their own website. And allowing people to pay whatever they want for the download version. Literally. £1 or £10, you get the same album download. However, given the trend towards increasing disinterest in Radiohead, this has, at a swoop, provided a) a very newsworthy Radiohead release, and b) brought back interest to a lot of people to the fold who have simply stopped buying their albums. The question is, then, is it a good Radiohead album? And the answer would have to be a unqualified 'yes' - it is more to the Kid A end of OK Computer rather than Creep or The Bends, but there are songs that rock hard (Bodysnatchers), ballads (Nude is classic Radiohead) and some genuinely great songs - Jigsaw Falling Into Place, House Of Cards. Thom Yorke's The Eraser would be the perfect appetiser for this album - if you get that album, and what it wants to do (disorient, to a great extent), and mix with some great Greenwood guitar, In Rainbows will be perfect. There's no doubt that this is a challenging listen - it's unlikely to work for you on first listen. But (and this feels wonderful to write) it is a great Radiohead album - well worth whatever you decide to pay for it. Album of the week.

ACE rating 9/10

Beirut's Gulag Orkestar was one of 2006's best albums - a debut full of promise and mould-breaking folk rock that drew from hundreds of years of Balkan folk, Baroque and an acute indie ethic. The follow-up has come remarkably quickly, and there is some concern that the speed of the success has gone to Zach Condon's head. The Glastonbury performance this year was weak and erratic. And now, to the mix, comes a passion for the French cabaret chanson. The Flying Club Cup is still expressive and full of lush melody, but it's rarely expansive and often repetitive. And that's despite the waltzes, the jazz, and the music of the steppes running throughout. However, it is only in reference to its predecessor that a criticism can be found - The Flying Cub Cup is a lovely album, full of great ideas, delivered more tamely but still beautifully. The feel of musical theatre is strong, with Condon's voice soaring impressively, like a less fragile Thom Yorke. The album's standout song is Cliquot, a romantic exotic masterpiece. Who'd have expected a young American to make the old music of Paris and the Balkans so giddily contemporary, so satisfying for an indie audience?

ACE rating 8/10

Some second albums just seem rushed. Band of Horses' 2005 debut, Everything All The Time, was a stunner - all Built To Spill/ My Morning Jacket melodic rock and a chillingly great ability to build towards a sophisticated headbanging chorus, like Supertramp on steroids. Funeral or The Great Salt Lake would sound as fresh after 100 listens as after 1. That album's follow-up, Cease To Begin, has real highlights, none bigger than the opener Is There A Ghost, which picks up right where the debut left off. It's a stunner. From there, however, only a couple of tracks head back towards its standards. A few too many end up in Coldplay-esque meandering, or even mild country (The Marry Song), to continue their Band of Horses-by-numbers retread. Cigarettes, Wedding Bands is a good song, Detlef Schrempf a great title for a so-so song. There is a feeling permeating Cease To Begin that Band of Horses may have played their big game for their debut. It is a lovely way to spend 40 minutes - Band of Horses are a band to be grateful for, after all - but it's a bit of a sophomore dip.

ACE rating 7/10