Kevin McDermott was Glasgow's Ryan Adams in the late 80s/early 90s, with a gift for songwriting and a compelling ability to convert those songs into something magical. With the help of a killer guitarist and rhythm section, the Kevin McDermott Orchestra came off like Dylan mixed with U2 fronted by Robbie Williams, and were easily Scotland's finest band for many a year, despite wranglings with record companies limiting exposure. Avoiding pop clichés, the music was timeless and, to a new listener, as relevant today as it then. To celebrate the re-release of KMO's stellar back catalogue, River have opened up the archives and released the band's first EP, Suffocation Blues, with a slice of radio sessions from Radio Clyde. Suffocation Blues reveals a young McDermott, and adds depth to the songs which would come to define the sound. The radio sessions are delightful, and bring some of the restless energy of the stage performance to some of KMO's best songs. Let's hope for more, and soon.

ACE rating 9/10

Gospel's greatest vocal group are all in their late seventies, and make a sound as essential and elemental as the Old Testament. Ben Harper is one of the finest young modern blues/jazz/rock musicians of the moment, so when these two are partnered, you would expect something deeply resonant and soulful. That the album goes beyond expectations in delivering an exciting mix of soul, gospel and deep Southern blues is some achievement. Like a mix of early Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles, and sounding like they have always been together, despite the generations that separate, the profoundly inspirational music made here is the sound of joy, of beauty and liberation. Harper seems to have been searching in recent years, and this album suggests it wasn't in vain.

ACE rating 9/10

An album in which the Elvis Costello we all used to know, the tuneful, literate sub-punk, returns and kicks some spitting songs into gear. Conceived whilst on tour in 1999, The Delivery Man is a song cycle (but not as off-putting as that suggests). Focusing on three women of different ages and their relationships with men, the album is written from the perspectives of the characters. Lucinda Williams and Emmylou Harris lend vocal majesty to some of the slower country-tinged tracks, but the XTC-like strong driving rhythm is the most notable feature, as Costello leans back towards his inner angry young man. Songs like The Name of This Thing Is Not Love and Bedlam are as good as anything in 20 years, and mean that you don't need to follow the lyrics too carefully to enjoy the album. Some of the slower story pieces layer on the melodrama too richly, but as indulgences go, Mr Costello can be forgiven this one.

ACE rating 7/10