Part II

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Dig!!! Lazarus! Dig!!!

There's a lot of boring music out there. I know because I own some of it. To keep things interesting I'm thankful for Mr Nick Cave. A man who can turn his hand to anything. A brooding reflection on Australia's violent past in his screenplay for The Proposition, and now he produces the goods on Dig. Lyrically entertaining, the combination of Cave's highly unusual vocals (think nasal chant) and great backing from the Bad Seeds combine to create one of the most interesting albums of the year.

Elbow - The Seldom seen Kid

Elbow, like British Sea Power, deserve much more attention than they usually receive. I first heard them when someone on Radio 1 was raving about them; sort of counting down the days until the release of the next album. I was intrigued by the sound of genuine enthusiasm. Seldom Seen Kid does not disappoint. It's a record devoid of swagger and Elbow clearly take an under the radar approach to marketing their carefully crafted tunes. It won't hit you between the eyes, but it gets under your skin...in a good way.

Coldplay - Vivia la Vida or Death and All his Friends

From Elbow's low-key approach we have Coldplay the colossus that bestrides the musical universe. It's hard to avoid them this month - I was waiting for Chris Martin to invade the stage at Glasto in solidarity with Jay-Z; sadly not. I got the free single and wasn't exactly excited, but after hearing a bit more on myspace I started coming round. That's what they do I guess, a melody here and a sing-out-loud in the car chorus there and hey presto you've got it on the ipod and the big guns of the music industry sleep just a little better. Well done Chris and co. No need for all the histrionics mind you!

The Raconteurs - Consolers of the Lonely

Released on the sly in March, Jack White continues to churn out quality material with a seemingly carefree ease, although we shouldn't ignore Brendan Benson. I love the White Stripes, but I enjoy the variety here. I like the collaborative and carefree sound of The Raconteurs compared with the relational and musical intensity of the Stripes. I don't have Broken Boy Soldiers, but I listened to a few samples of Consolers of the Lonely and really liked it. I think the song 'Rich Kids Blues' was the tune that did it - great song and fantastic lyrics.

The Roots - Rising Down

While I don't consider myself a huge fan of hip hop, I actually have three albums by The Roots on my ipod. I just got this recently and I'm still working my way through this album, but unsurprisingly it's angry, political poetry built on a dizzying range of beats, samples and experimentation. I think I will be coming back to this one a lot.