The Maccabees are one of the more interesting new British bands. The South London band’s debut, Colour It In, was interestingly spiky and inventive. Wall Of Arms Joy-Divisions up their Talking Heads/ Smiths/ Arcade Fire schtick – darkening the ideas and the tone significantly. It is a better, more mature record, even while losing a touch of the instant poppiness of its predecessor, adding in melancholy (perhaps reflecting the band’s internal wranglings). It starts with its best track, Love You Better, and doesn’t really let off the accelerator until the unusual Dinosaurs follows the impressive No Kind Words (watch the video featuring Matthew Horne of Gavin and Stacey). If the flash-before-substance nature of many British bands is starting to make you wish for a proper band that can combine melody with punch, swagger, humour and great song structures, Wall of Sound will make a better entry point than British Sea Power or The Doves ever will. Highly recommended.

ACE rating 8/10

Karima Francis is a Manchester-based singer songwriter whose voice, like that of Bristol-based Katey Brooks, makes a massive range of songs possible. From poppier, KT Tunstall-type songs like Again, to the Jeff Buckley-ish Laurel Avenue, there is a touch of the Joan Armatrading/ Tracey Chapman to her voice (as with Katey Brooks). After stunning industry insiders at 2006’s In The City in Manchester, this debut rounds out those songs nicely, leaving the voice prominent and comfortably loose in the centre. There is so much more substance here than can be found in the whole Joss Stone canon – her song Francis was one of the highlights of the Jools Holland Later series. Francis has the kind of talent that should not just be bubbling under in the UK, but acclaimed from all four corners.

ACE rating 8/10

Ben’s Brother is Jamie Hartman – the band originated as a five piece, named after Jamie’s big brother, in whose shadow Jamie felt he lived… Although the debut album, Beta Male Fairytales did well, and generated some advertising licensing deals, Hartman decided to go it alone with the follow up, creating his own label, and bringing in songwriting friends (he has previously written for artists like Will Young, Lemar, Natalie Imbruglia, Beverly Knight and McFly). Battling Giants includes a duet with Joss Stone, to compound the poppiness of this release. In fact, Battling Giants may refer to taking on the larger labels, but this album is full of the kind of poppy rock that the majors so adore – think Paolo Nutini, The Script, rather than anything with more edge. This is nice enough, and the songs are catchy enough, but it is hard to imagine falling in love with this kind of song unless X Factor really does set your musical horizons. Artists who can’t write will no doubt find a lot of songs to cover in this pleasant-enough collection.

ACE rating 7/10