Who saw this one coming? An acoustic guitarist and a drummer, playing frenetic, trance-like folk, that is as compelling as any rock. Like a bluesier, edgier Sufjan Stevens, Dodos use banjo, fingerpicked guitar and animal, tribal drumming. Visiter could draw from anything between Bron-Y-Aur Stomp from Led Zeppelin III and the finer moments of Beirut's Gulag Arkestar, with swathes of New Orleans jazz, Akron/Family jubilation and subtle, joyful indie (think Death Cab in a good mood). Winter is the most 'normal' of the tracks, and perhaps the best way in - there is absolutely no way that any fan of Beirut would not love this track, or this album. The drums are at the fore a la Battles, but the hypnotic, repetitive vocals add real class - this second album by Dodos shows a wonderful maturity to go with the wild abandon. Visiter is a small album to fall in love with in a big way.

ACE rating 9/10

Sun Kil Moon are the deliciously lush, gorgeous side of Mark Kozelek - the first album, Ghosts of The Great Highway, remains one of the most wonderful listens, five years on. Where his other band, Red House Painters, could be annoyingly straightlaced, Sun Kil Moon brought in reverie and soaring melody, languid pacing and a tidal dynamic flow. A diversion on Tiny Cities - an album of covers of Modest Mouse songs - then this new Sun Kil Moon disc of originals. April misses the sweeping majesty of Ghosts, in return for some stunning musicianship - its songs are generally more subdued, perhaps more morose. In return, April is less of an album to pick at, and more of a piece - like a mattress to lay gently upon, the songs take their own time to unfold with an aching absence of any rush: a few drift over 9 minutes, unhurried, hypnotic, gentle waves of beauty. If there is a criticism, it would be that Kozelek himself seems to have let the mood infuse his vocals - underdelivered, they tail off towards the end of each line. It's a small blemish on an otherwise lovely album.

ACE rating 8/10

Ben Sollee is a cellist, which isn't the most rock and roll of instruments. However, when your voice recalls Jeff Buckley or Andrew Bird, and your song structures recall Ben Harper or Andrew Bird's sophisticated, layered indie and classic soul, no apology need be made. Learning to Bend is an album that appeals to the mind, and to the deepest, bluesiest parts of the heart. Acoustic, plucked and bowed instruments (and guest musicians, including Bela Fleck) deliver a remarkably sparse platform for his soaring voice - this is truer to the spirit of R&B and soul than Amy Winehouse could imagine. When Sollee updates Sam Cooke's A Change Is Gonna Come, the theme of the album becomes clear - that bending and withstanding ultimately delivers greater success than looking strong by standing firm. Sollee's classical training provides a vastly wider canvas than many contemporaries - unconstrained by genre or musical ability, Learning To Bend is an album that should bring him enormous success.

ACE rating 8/10