This debut album from Chicago's New Ruins was largely written while the principals were at college 600 miles from each other, and recorded in the holidays. It is a rather remarkable collection of the kind of rock that The Foo Fighters, The National and various college bands have made for the past 20 years - deep, dark, withered, acoustic-written and melodic. The opener, Ships, suggests the band have come to rock, with its tight, jagged intensity, but from there, melancholy is the predominant emotion. However, it feels so right in that minor-key place, like direct heat on itchy skin. At times, the folksy guitar drone recalls Califone, with Elzie Sexton and J. Caleb Means' vocals a Jesus and Mary Chain baritone. This is a genuinely impressive debut - the band sound weather- and road-beaten already, the songs road-honed. If you like it when the Foo Fighters turn down the rawk for a few more acoustic moments, New Ruins are for you.

ACE rating 9/10

Anna Ternheim is a major singer-songwriter talent in Sweden, but is almost unknown in the UK, and that is a real shame, as her albums so far reveal a singer with a rare ability to tell a story honestly. Her voice, tinged with a Swedish accent, is on the right side of dusky, and avoids the histrionics of Maria McKee or Bjork, while engaging much more deeply than Norah Jones or Madeleine Peyroux. Lovers Dream is an EP follow up to Separation Road, her best album so far, and edges more towards drama, but coolly and sweetly. The opening, title song, with Fyfe Dangerfield of The Guillemots, is a classically dark duet - it is a perfect scene-setter for the rest of the disc. The music is innovative and fresh - like an early Suzanne Vega mixed with Mazzy Star, or maybe a more laid-back Cardigans - no over-reliance on strummed guitar and piano among the Tom Waits-like instrumentation. Lovers Dreams would be a great place to start an Anna Ternheim journey. You will have a head start on the rest of the UK - there is no rational reason that she's not widely-known here already.

ACE rating 8/10

The Clientele's Strange Geometry was one of 2005's best albums, with its breathy vocals, 60s paisley pop sound and shimmering instrumentation. God Save The Clientele sees the Scottish band try to repeat that album with added sunshine, but with less added salt than the recipe needs. The songs wash over you, one after another, with none staying between the ears after they've gone. In fact, you may find yourself thinking they've played the same song (at least) twice. There is room for gentle 60s pop, but it's easy to underestimate what made the great pop great. Occasionally, the album picks up momentum (Bookshop Casanova is energetic and has a wry humour, Dreams of Leaving closes the album on a lovely quiet downer). While bands like The Clientele, Panda Bear and Field Music try hard to sound like bands from an earlier era, they all seem to have forgotten that it's not enough to 'sound a bit like' their heroes. Dead Ringers impersonates famous people badly - The Clientele are drifting the same way.

ACE rating 6/10