Album: Hatful of Rain
Way Up On The Hill (Union Music)
Hatful Of Rain have been causing quite a stir for a while now with their own blend of Appalachian bluegrass and English folk roots. On this, their debut album, the four-piece combine a swooning mix of fiddle, mandolin, banjo, upright bass and guitar alongside some great vocal harmonies. Singer Chloe Overton possesses a stunning voice that really makes you stop in your tracks and take notice, while the majority of these original songs have the knack of sounding like some lost bluegrass classic that you’ve yet to discover. One of the best and most original examples of an English band playing this genre that you’re likely to hear this year – mighty impressive.

EP: Miles Courtney
Espresso (Convex Collective)
This six-track debut EP from Brighton bass producer Miles Courtney is an unexpected aural gem, with delightfully-named opener ‘Elephant Sweat’ a twisting, delicate meander through gentle harmonies and twinkling, acidic keyboards. Stand-out title track ‘Espresso’ is a meaner, leaner piece, with a racing pulse and menacing clicks. The EP is remarkably well produced and clean-sounding, deep, progressive, and promising. All tracks are free to download at convexrecords.bandcamp.com.

EP: Leon Vynehall
Mauve EP (Well Rounded Housing Project)
Deep house, 90s style, is back in a big way, only now – thanks to many of the producers coming out of dubstep – we’re calling it future bass. Leon Vynehall has had a slightly different path having come to the currently firing imprint Well Rounded via south coast indie supernova YAAKS. The title track draws a line between UK garage and Chicago acid with piano stabs and bubbling synths. ‘Homage’ on the flip is better still; a sultry late night groove that has something of DJQ about it, if anyone remembers him? He made future bass in the 90s.

Album: Belleruche  
Rollerchain (Tru Thoughts)
Since 2007, London trio Belleruche have risen so rapidly up the Tru Thoughts tree that they’re now the label’s biggest selling act. Album number four finds them drifting further from their earlier ‘turntable soul’ into sparser, stranger songwriting. Opening single ‘Stormbird’ sets the abstract tone, as varispeed drum machines rattle along over deep bass trenches, while fractured rave riffs smear the soundscape, held together by Kathrin deBoer’s lonesome vocals. It’s the moodier tracks like downtempo curio ‘16 Minutes’ that haunt.

Album: Heliopause
The Lumo Tape (Precious Metal)
Limited to 50 physical copies (with unlimited digital, though), on a cassette label run by Illness’ Spencer Thompson, this latest album by Heliopause is a more experimental set than their previous releases, but equally accessible. Brighton based Richard Davis’ distance from his Belfast bandmates has forced his hand into developing a loop-based strand to his songwriting, and the results are rich and rewarding. Despite the lo-fi origins and format, ‘The Lumo Tape’ is a bright, endlessly tuneful affair, and warrants seeking out.

Single: Running Dogs
Turn Me (Pelirocco Platters)
Suited and booted rockers Running Dogs are aiming to write “as many bangers as we possibly can”, and have already managed to get mega-producer Youth on board to knock their would-be anthems into shape. The trebly riff of flipside ‘Rumpunch’ flags up Libs/Babyshambles influences, but is tighter than anything Doherty’s managed in donkey’s, while the barrelling ‘Turn Me’ itself suggests Running Dogs aren’t afraid of sticking their feet on the monitors, so long as they don’t crease their strides.

Album: Sons Of Noel And Adrian
Knots (Broken Sound / One Inch Badge / Wilkommen)
As their friends and former tourmates Laura Marling and Mumford & Sons attain unexpected international ubiquity, we wouldn’t have been surprised had Sons Of Noel And Adrian used album number two as a calling card for the mainstream. Instead, ‘Knots’ finds the 12-piece following their own instincts, weaving an aptly dense thicket of see-sawing folk and complex rhythms. Jacob Richardson’s quavering vocals add a sense of haunted desolation even as the group’s intricate interplay spirals upwards.