Sufjan Stevens' critically-acclaimed Illinoise was one of the albums of 2005, and what we have here are 21 songs that didn't make it onto that album. We should be grateful that Illinoise didn't feature these songs - it wasn't short in its own right, and the cull that saw these songs hit the floor made it an almost perfect CD. However, some of the songs that didn't make it are also astonishing, and those of us who would prefer more officially-available Sufjan rather than less should be grateful that tracks like Avalanche, the three versions of Chicago, and Pittsfield made it onto the shelves at some point. However, like any sketchbook, there are wrong turns - Super Computer reminds a little too harshly of the awful electronic noise Enjoy Your Rabbit album - and there are some underbaked ideas dressed up as songs. The outtakes from Greetings From Michigan made it out onto the Internet briefly, and enhanced the understanding of that album. Avalanche does likewise, but you should only get it after you have worn out your copy of Illinoise.

ACE rating 8/10

Straightahead bar band rock has its aficionados and the Bottle Rockets are at the raucous alt country end of the bar band spectrum. This is the band's 8th album (lead singer Brian Henneman spent time with legends Uncle Tupelo), and suggests that their music has a whole lot of life left in it. Like a rocked-up John Hiatt, or a less earnest Drive By Truckers, the band leave the fun in and keep the volume high. However, the seemingly simple music hides an interestingly political edge, with wonderfully sharp lyrics and an intelligent theme. This album may well be the band's best so far, with hard-hitting songs like Mountain To Climb and the title track. Well worth a listen if Steve Earle occasionally ventures onto your street.

ACE rating 8/10

Possibly the album that has most underdelivered on expectations for me in 2006, On Fire! (Igloo) is the follow up to one of 2004's Albums of The Year, Get Off The Ground If You're Scared, where the band out Death Cab'ed Death Cab For Cutie, with an intelligent, indie melodic mix. Here, however, they have upped the indie, with sideways glances and oh-so-hip nods to culture, but forgot to load in the melodies that made the predecessor so successful. When it is good (as on The Saddest Christmas or This Song Is Not About You, So Don't Ask), it is still gorgeous, like Clem Snide at their best, but elsewhere the album just seems to cruise along the runway without ever taking off. Lyrically, the songs are wonderful - the CD liner could be read as a book of poetry - but they overwhelm to be the point that it seems the music was written later, rather as an afterthought, with the guys just regurgitating where they'd been before. This is still a nice album, but it doesn't build on such a promising debut.

ACE rating 7/10