Rodrigo y Gabriela have become cult favourites for their intriguing blend of classical and flamenco guitar with a rock sensibility – their cover of Stairway to Heaven only one highlight in an amazing body of work so far. Way more than polite dinner party music, the passion, grace and fire of their interplay is always entertaining. That palette has been expanded on 11:11, with leanings towards Al Di Meola-like jazz, the inclusion of rock guitarist Alex Skolnick, and another duo in Strunz and Farah. It is a wonderful addition, elevating the album from more-of-the-same (no matter how great) to ‘wow’. This album has dynamics, it has soul, it has rock and jazz. As only their second studio album, it catches some of the heat of their live work perfectly – they have turned into a genuinely sustainable phenomenon, rather than any inspired flash in the pan.

ACE rating 9/10

Rodrigo y Gabriela have become cult favourites for their intriguing blend of classical and flamenco guitar with a rock sensibility – their cover of Stairway to Heaven only one highlight in an amazing body of work so far. Way more than polite dinner party music, the passion, grace and fire of their interplay is always entertaining. That palette has been expanded on 11:11, with leanings towards Al Di Meola-like jazz, the inclusion of rock guitarist Alex Skolnick, and another duo in Strunz and Farah. It is a wonderful addition, elevating the album from more-of-the-same (no matter how great) to ‘wow’. This album has dynamics, it has soul, it has rock and jazz. As only their second studio album, it catches some of the heat of their live work perfectly – they have turned into a genuinely sustainable phenomenon, rather than any simply inspired flash in the pan.

ACE rating 9/10

Neil Young himself combined Neil Young with Pearl Jam, but not as well as these guys do it. Alberta Cross’ debut EP, The Thief and The Heartbreaker, was well received critically, as it looked for a way through its Zeppelin folk. With this album, though, the band’s sonic standing has taken a leap forward. Opener, Song Three Blues, is one of the best tracks you’ll hear all year – the Led Zeppelin III rock is intact, but brought bang up to date (any fans of Muse will be more than happy here), and that barrage continues. At least half of this album is genuinely, unarguably, great rock. There is a bigness to the sound, too – the kind of festival bigness that has driven Kings of Leon’s growth recently. It isn’t a constant excellence, unfortunately, as one or two songs drop below the level of the first half, but that’s barely a criticism of a stunning debut.

ACE rating 8/10

Neil Young himself combined Neil Young with Pearl Jam, but not as well as these guys do it. Alberta Cross’ debut EP, The Thief and The Heartbreaker, was well received critically, as it looked for a way through its Zeppelin folk. With this album, though, the band’s sonic standing has taken a leap forward. Opener, Song Three Blues, is one of the best tracks you’ll hear all year – the Led Zeppelin III rock is intact, but brought bang up to date (any fans of Muse will be more than happy here), and that barrage continues. At least half of this album is genuinely, unarguably, great rock. There is a bigness to the sound, too – the kind of festival bigness that has driven Kings of Leon’s growth recently. It isn’t a constant excellence, unfortunately, as one or two songs drop below the level of the first half, but that’s barely a criticism of a stunning debut.

ACE rating 8/10

With a sludgey mix of clever indie and decade-old grunge, Colonial Drones is a pretty convincing argument for letting the soulful clever boys make records forever. In making it literate, and making it smart, the band have also made it take its time to grow on you. The power poppy sound is varied throughout the album – it is hard to establish exactly what the band want to sound like. ‘Themselves’ seems too easy an answer. The best track here, Put The Gurus In Charge rocks as well as anything they’ve done before. And it leads to an understanding of exactly what it is that Hallelujah The Hills bring to this second album – an insistent, compelling message through the mix, combined with wit, humor and something deeply cynical. Adding band members from Titus Andronicus seems to make a difference to the punky edge. This band will never be big, but they are clever.

ACE rating 7/10

With a sludgey mix of clever indie and decade-old grunge, Colonial Drones is a pretty convincing argument for letting the soulful clever boys make records forever. In making it literate, and making it smart, the band have also made it take its time to grow on you. The power poppy sound is varied throughout the album – it is hard to establish exactly what the band want to sound like. ‘Themselves’ seems too easy an answer. The best track here, Put The Gurus In Charge rocks as well as anything they’ve done before. And it leads to an understanding of exactly what it is that Hallelujah The Hills bring to this second album – an insistent, compelling message through the mix, combined with wit, humor and something deeply cynical. Adding band members from Titus Andronicus seems to make a difference to the punky edge. This band will never be big, but they are clever.

ACE rating 7/10