Writer of some of the band’s classic hits (I Predict A Riot, Ruby), Hodgson is no stranger to great tunes and from the opening RSVP, a giddy, in-your-face blast of sheer joy, he flexes his songwriting chops across a whole slew of fast and furious hit singles in the making.
His voice is unusual – a kind of pithy, American-style indie croon – but the likes of Honest Face, Suitable and Feel Better are superbly addictive.
Turin Brakes: Invisible Storm (Cooking Vinyl)
Olly Knights has one of those pop voices you never tire of hearing: a compact, flutingly high tone that lends itself beautifully to the Brakes’ neat choruses and concise, aching ballads.
Masters of the three-minute pop song but always with one longer, slow-burning ballad up their sleeve (in this case, the gradually unfolding Smoke & Mirrors), the London quartet take hold from the breezy keyboard line of the opening Would You Be Mine and cram in more great hooks and choruses than most bands manage over five albums.
The gentle, bluesy Deep Sea Diver and slipping, sliding rhythms of Everything All At Once are particularly impressive.
Calexico: The Thread That Keeps Us (City Slang)
The dense mix of Tex-Mex rhythms and atmospheric Americana that has graced previous Calexico records is still present on Joey Burns and John Convertino’s ninth album.
But there’s a fresh, free-wheeling, confidence at work here, too, leading them effortlessly from the reggae and brass-driven Under The Wheels and frantic, see-sawing, Another Space to a gentle, 1960s-influenced, ballad of quite shimmering beauty: The Town & Miss Lorraine.
Hollie Cook: Vessel Of Love (Merge Records)
Daughter of Sex Pistols drummer Paul Cook and former member of all-female punk pioneers The Slits, Cook’s upbeat, highly commercial reggae-pop is frequently irresistible here.
Legendary producer Martin “Youth” Glover tends to mix her voice back, cloaking it in heavily melodic rhythms.
But the effect on Stay Alive and the title track is stunning.
A little Radio 2 play should see Hollie safely into the singles charts