If The Streets didn't do it for you because of the limitations of Mike Skinner's voice, Kevin Mark Trail may just be the answer. You can hear his voice on The Streets' Let's Push Things Forward and Same Old Show, and here the warmth and tonal range are given a broader run. The sound is idiosyncratic - a new urban sound of soul, reggae, R&B and garage that talks more to the poetry of real-life concerns, rather than girls and parties. Like Citizen Cope, who is uniting traditional rock and R&B audiences in the USA, Just Living sounds like someone who has internalised Jamaican reggae in a way UB40 never did, mixing it with heavier modern R&B, some Otis Redding, and a dialogue that comes from life as seen by The Royle Family, rather than MTV Cribs.

ACE rating 8/10

If your '80s tastes run closer to Sparks than Spandau, you'll be pleased with the spikey, angular pop rock of new bands like Interpol and Franz Ferdinand. Arcade Fire are in the same vein, but mix in a whole lot of other styles to their palette, from Jeff Buckley to Coldplay's second album, from Belle and Sebastian to This Town Ain't Big Enough For The Both Of Us. Funeral is the debut album from Montreal's Arcade Fire, after EPs and live shows garnered them a great deal of critical acclaim in 2004. Many believe this will be one of the bands of 2005, but the overly romantic lyrics and Cure whiney vocals make it an uncomfortable listen, with few real hooks to sustain the listener's attention - this is how Snow Patrol might sound if they decided to court the goth bedsit audience, with a string section to add drama to the melodramatic sections.

ACE rating 7/10

Rilo Kiley have moved up on the blindside as the inoffensive girl-fronted indie band that it's cool to like, like a harder Texas. Unfortunately, that belief is based more on marketing than reality, as in truth the band are only capable of some average rock in the All About Eve vein. More Adventurous is also maybe something we should take up with the Trade Descriptions Act, as this is only more adventurous than, say, Celine Dion. There is more of the sweet lead vocal that was seen on their first two albums, and some tunes that are nice enough, but no-one should get carried away that this is an important band. Let's put it this way - if you liked All About Eve's Martha's Harbour, back in 1987 (yup...), you'll be into this one in a big way. If you expect more, 17 years on, avoid.

ACE rating 6/10