Album: I Am Kloot, I Am Kloot Play Moolah Rouge (Skinny Dog)

I Am Kloot's sonic palette has been augmented by pedal steel guitar and keyboards, but songwriter John Bramwell's emotional state is as fragile as ever.

Even the euphoria of love is clouded with dark chords in "Ferris Wheels", while the pedal steel adds only a veneer of poignancy to "Down At the Front", one of several songs dealing with leaving. "In my way I was in my way, incomplete," Bramwell sings in "The Runaways". The feeling of being surplus to requirements pervades songs such as "Chaperoned", "Suddenly Strange" and "Only Role In Town" – but then, this is a man who feels out of place in his own dreams: "When I sleep at night the creatures crawl, and I get caught up in a one-man brawl with me". There's an anticipation of reconciliation in "At the Sea", but I wouldn't count on it.

Pick of the album:'One Man Brawl', 'The Runaways', 'Only Role In Town'