‘In Between Dreams’ by Jack Johnson

I’ve been sitting on this for a fair while. Listened to it ages ago – and actually, it’s been on heavy rotation in the house since the Christmas music went away – but I just haven’t worked out what to say about it. The problem with this album is that it’s so straightforward, so undemanding, that it almost defies description. Trouble is, as soon as you say that, it sounds like a massive criticism, and it’s not meant to be, as this is a very fine record. I listened to ‘Brushfire Fairytales’ a few weeks ago, and it’s best track (‘Flake’ – if you think otherwise, you’re wrong) is matched, quality-wise, by almost everything on ‘In Between Dreams’.

So, it’s easy to listen to, but it has a warmth and a lightness of touch that’s hugely enjoyable. Johnson’s songwriting and vocal delivery have both developed well since his first two albums. Most of it is fairly simple, whether in the one-man-and-his-guitar tracks of ‘Do You Remember’ or the loose-acoustic-rock style of ‘Good People’, but there are some more ambitious moments – the close harmonies of ‘Staple It Together’, say. And that’s it, really. Let it wash over you. All done.

‘If You’re Feeling Sinister – live at the Barbican’ by Belle and Sebastian

Nine years later, Belle and Sebastian returned to their second album for a one-off gig in which they played the record through in its entirety. The gig was recorded, then released via iTunes for charity. The setlist was chosen as the band themselves weren’t ever so happy with the final result of the original album. Personally, I’d rather listen to this version.

There are no radical departures here – every track is played more or less as it was originally, but with a greater confidence – almost a swagger. Almost a decade on, the difference in how the band sounds is striking. There’s a great sense of relaxation throughout this album, and this brings the album a real sense of joy. Tracks like ‘Like Dylan In The Movies’ and ‘Get Me Away From Here, I’m Dying’ lose their slightly pained and restrained edge and become songs that are a sheer pleasure to listen to.

It’s rare, I imagine, for an exercise like this to be any more than an exercise in vanity, or at best, something which works well on stage but is unnecessary on record. But not this time – this is great.

'Guero' by Beck

I’m not entirely sure of the chronology on this one. I think my first Beck album was ‘Odelay’, bought well after release as one of those ‘this is an album I should probably own’ purchases. I also have ‘The Information’ in my collection, and this. I think this one came first, and I think it was bought (or given to me – not sure) after seeing Beck perform an extraordinarily inventive set at the V festival in 2007ish. Anyhow, I’d listened to it a bit and enjoyed it, but it hadn’t left a very strong impression.

Determined listening pays off, however. It’s an album of varying accessibility – even across the first three tracks, ‘E-Pro’ is instantly catchy, ‘Qué Onda Guero’ sounds like a directionless jam, and ‘Girl’ is perfectly radio friendly – but even at its most impenetrable, it’s a good listen. It reinforces the common perception of Beck, as a talented and experimental musician who can turn his hand to more or less whatever he likes. It goes on a little longer than its optimum length, but probably only because of the bonus tracks stuck on the end. Though, in fairness, ‘Send A Message To Her’ deserves its place, even if ‘Chain Reaction’ is a bit Beck-by-numbers.

‘Fashion Rocks EP’ by David Bowie & Arcade Fire

Here’s a little curio that’s too short to get much attention. Recorded a couple of years ago at some glitzy fashion do, the ‘Fashion Rocks EP’ brings together two great acts over three short tracks.

It begins with ‘Life On Mars?’, performed by Bowie more-or-less alone, backed only by Mike Garson’s piano. It’s a tough one. Bowie’s voice is a long way off being able to hit those high notes now, and the songs transposition does rob it of a lot of its magic, but at the same time, it’s such a great song, it can’t fail to be good, and the songs re-arrangement makes the best of the job.

Arcade Fire join for the next two songs, their own ‘Wake Up’, and Bowie’s ‘Five Years’. Both of these are great, though it’s the latter that’s most interesting. Because the band are so big, and produce so much sound, Bowie’s contribution struggles to make much impact during ‘Wake Up’. They do, however, bring a ramshackle energy to ‘Five Years’ that complements Bowie’s part brilliantly.

The performance was released as a straightforward download, and in fairness, didn’t deserve anything more than that. Nevertheless, it’s a good listen for a fan of Bowie or Arcade Fire, so well worth hearing if you like both.

‘Excerpts From The Diary of Todd Zilla’ by Grandaddy

There must be lots of ways to see the end in sight when you’re in a band. Financial difficulties, a dwindling fan-base, increasingly negative reviews – all of these are frequent occurrences. Watching your lead singer record an album by himself and then release it under the band name, however, must be a bit awkward. So it was with Grandaddy who released this short album as a prelude to their last proper album. Was it a cause, or an effect of their parting, I wonder…

‘Excerpts’ is both familiar ground and new territory for Jason Lytle. It’s a definite turn away from the more complicated and polished work of ‘The Sophtware Slump’ and ‘Sumday’, but at the same time, it captures the feel of the band’s earlier work very thoroughly. Pretty much every trick in the Grandaddy repertoire is on display here. Burbling keyboards? ‘Pull The Curtains’. Slightly bizarre lyrical references to the contrasts of nature and technology? ‘At My Post’. Gently fragile acoustic tracks? ‘A Valley Son’. Dense layers of woozy sound? ‘Cinderland’. Wavering vocals over a piano that sounds like it was recorded in another room? The unnecessarily profane ‘F**k The Valley Fudge’. Exuberant noise that careers all over the place? ‘Florida’. Acoustic strum-along that turns into a slow-burning epic closer? ‘Goodbye’. And we’re done.

If you’re a fan of their other work, you’ll enjoy this. Certainly, as it was released, it was enough to give you confidence that future solo work from Lytle would be worth following. Not an album to start with, though.

'Crying At Tea Time' by Alfie

Alfie were a little known indie band from Manchester who formed in 2000 and disbanded seven years later without achieving any kind of commercial success. They got reasonably good reviews, but unless you read the NME fervently on a weekly basis, your chances of even hearing of them were pretty limited. I don’t think I’d even heard an Alfie song before stumbling on this, their final album, in Tesco bargain bucket. I think it set me back 97p – at that price, I was happy to give it a go.

I’m glad I did. Despite their lack of success, Alfie were, at least on this evidende, a pretty decent act. There’s nothing earth-shattering about this album, but it’s consistently good, with some real highlights (‘Your Own Religion’ and ‘Applecart’ in particular). There was a three month gap between this album being released, and the band calling it a day, so I imagine they poured everything they had into this as a final throw of the dice. It’s a shame it didn’t work, because it should have done.

'Arcade Fire EP' by Arcade Fire

Released in 2003, then again in 2005 to follow the first proper album, this 7 track EP was the first release from Arcade Fire. You wouldn't expect a massive amount from it - recorded in a barn before the band had a record deal, it sounds a bit rough and ready, but it shows many of the hallmarks of Arcade Fire which they would go on to develop more fully. The instrumentation and the vocal signatures are all in place, and only the slightly ropey production lets it down. It's most notable for an early version of 'No Cars Go' which would later feature on Neon Bible in an almost identical form, which rather implies the band were happy with this record as it was - and fair enough, really. It's unlikely that many people would choose to listen to it instead of 'Funeral' which followed it, but it's a pretty good curio.