Album: Brett Anderson, Black Rainbows (EMI)

Recorded in January 2010, just a few months after the release of Slow Attack, this presages last year's well-received Suede reformation both temporally and stylistically, Brett Anderson deliberately eschewing its predecessor's intriguing orchestrations in favour of something more "restless, noisy and dynamic"", created from standard rock instrumentation.

Its brief gestation (recorded in just three days) is both Black Rainbows' trump card and its Achilles heel: while imparting a palpable sense of immediacy to the performances, there are some tracks that could do with more work. But it's a decent enough effort, Anderson relishing the return to gutter glamour and devotion, while his band shifts nimbly from skeletal and steely to driving and anthemic.

DOWNLOAD THIS: Unsung; Brittle Heart; Possession