Adem Love and Other Planets (Domino) £11.99
Singer-songwriter Adem Ilhan's 2004 debut Homesongs turned many hearts to mush with its quivery-voiced warmth, and his second album, despite being a concept album about space, manages to retain that intimate feeling. Ilhan is undoubtedly a sensitive, if po-faced, lyricist. The opening track, 'Warning Call', wonders whether we'd change our Earth-buggering ways if we received a stern talking-to from the inhabitants of another planet. But his limited vocal range and laboured 'folktronic' sound - which resembles someone fiddling with a Geiger counter - makes this ambitious album suffer. Lynsey Hanley
Kanye West Late Orchestration (Roc-a-fella/Mercury) £14.99
Late Orchestration documents a concert Kanye West played at the Abbey Road Studios last September. Normally, hip-hop live albums are about as necessary as a hole in the head, even when, as in West's case, they feature posh string sections instead of tedious guest spots. There's a lot going for this one, though. The set list is hot, with singles such as 'Gold Digger' and 'Through the Wire' , as well as more hard-hitting tracks like 'Crack Music '. West's raps are at the forefront, so if you missed any of his sparkling turns of phrase on either album, you can marvel at them here. Kitty Empire
Wolfmother Wolfmother (Island) £11.99
Australian heavy rock trio Wolfmother sound so much like Led Zeppelin that they may as well call themselves Fred or Ted or Ned Zeppelin and make a mint playing wedding receptions. Not only can they crank up their instruments to 11 without sounding like a distorted mess, but singer Andrew Stockdale really does have Robert Plant's high, portentous wail down pat. To their credit, they don't try to hide their influences, and they can write tunes that ( just about) stand up to their chosen genre's inherent silliness. But they stray dangerously close to Darkness-worthy self-parody on the loopy 'Mind's Eye'. LH
Akala It's Not a Rumour (Illa State) £11.99
North London MC Akala is otherwise known as Kingslee MacLean Daley - or Ms Dynamite's little brother. Like his sister, he has an irrepressible urge to communicate feelings of hurt, rage and injustice, but unlike her he does it with a welcome dose of humour. On his debut album he compares himself to the Bard, but does it with a wink, and bemoans - perhaps unexpectedly for a 24-year-old - the imposition of inheritance tax. Tinny production makes much of the music sound like the Red Hot Chili Peppers heard through someone else's iPod; it is his motormouthed lyric-spitting that is the highlight. LH
Hugo Siegmeth Red Onions (Act 9443-2) £15.99
When Hugo Siegmeth (born Romania, 1970) set out to pay homage to Sidney Bechet (born New Orleans, 1897), his intention was to present Bechet's music using contemporary vocabulary. The result is fascinating. To avoid any imitation of the original, he does not play soprano saxophone, Bechet's main instrument, concentrating instead on the tenor and clarinet. Some of his transformations are quite magical. Bechet's haunting 'Petite Fleur', for instance, surrounded by some fairly dissonant strings. As for 'Les Oignons', the crowd-pleaser with which Bechet usually ended his shows, it emerges as an ideal vehicle for Sonny Rollins. Dave Gelly
Jim Moray Jim Moray (NIBL) £11.99
The profusion of young folk princelings continues. Moray, like several others, grew up in a folk family but was classically trained, and brings plenty of musical ambition to this follow-up to last year's award-strewn debut, Sweet England. Moray's update on tradition runs from folk-rock - 'Fair and Tender Lovers' is a winner - to classical flourishes and messy beats-and-dub arrangements. His vocals, melodramatic in the best sense, can handle the old tunes: ' Barbara Allen', 'Gilderoy' . If at times Moray over-reaches himself - 'Magic When You're Near' is an ' 1812 Overture' minus cannon - his determination to innovate is admirable. Neil Spencer
