The Place We Ran From by Tired Pony

BORN out of Gary Lightbody of Snow Patrol’s doodling on tour, the group Tired Pony brings together a plethora of music talent from differing bands and nations, including drummer Peter Buck of R.E.M. fame, actress-come-singer Zooey Deschanel and Tom Smith from Editors. The Place We Ran From is a heady mix of lots of diverse sounds, from country to intense soulful missives. This truly is an album for all people. The initial single Dead American Writers, released last month, gives an insight into how the whole record moves forward – Snow Patrol it certainly isn’t. I would definitely recommend you try it, you never know you might just like it. I did.

WO2 Mo Morris, RLC

Love Amongst Ruin

IT is a bold step to emerge from the shadows but it is one Love Amongst Ruin’s Steve Hewitt relishes. Acclaimed for his stick work with angst rockers Placebo, leading from the front has been a new experience. Sensibly he has co-opted the production nous of Julian Cope cohort Donald Ross Skinner to assist. Alone has a clever tempo, doffing its cap to New Order in their prime. Heaven and Hell is certainly one of the standout tracks, slowing the pace to an air of atmospheric genius. Generally Hewitt’s vocals lack sufficient range and are often distorted. It may take a few plays to convince the floating voter that there is more in the tank for the band to offer.

Steve King, Soldier

Streets of Gold by 3OH!3

IT is unbelievable to think that this is the third offering from Colorado duo 3OH!3. Given the fact it is so appalling, one can only assume that the record exec responsible for commissioning this album had never heard their earlier work. If he had he would have surely said ‘thanks, but no thanks’. The lyrics are littered with sexual innuendos that lack any degree of subtlety; in fact it is full-on harassment. Rent-a-vocalist Ke$ha appears on the insanely irritable My First Kiss, which has littered radio playlists all summer, while Katy Perry lends a hand on Starstrukk and I hope she is ashamed of herself for doing so. This is very much third time unlucky and I only hope there is no fourth album to come.

Stephen Tyler, Soldier

Lazarus by Travie McCoy

AFTER finding fame across the pond with Gym Class Heroes, singer Travie McCoy has decided to fly solo with the release of Lazarus. This is somewhat of a confused debut and after the first three tracks you could be forgiven for thinking you were blending Gnarls Barkley, Linkin Park and Jack Johnson. But when it settles into a hip-hop offering the album works well, with Akidagain and The Manual particularly impressive. McCoy has called upon a long list of collaborating artists, producers and writers and you can’t help but wonder if he would have been better off working as a true solo artist. On the whole this is decent enough and it will be interesting to see how he develops in the future.

Richard Long, Soldier

United Nations of Sound

THIS is the self-titled debut from ex-Verve frontman Richard Ashcroft’s new band The United Nations Of Sound and it certainly offers a mixture of different musical styles from start to finish. From Hendrix loops to 90s rap ballad-type numbers, the songs are interlaced with a string ensemble and tend to keep to a definite underlying, but noticeable, R&B/hip hop theme throughout. Don’t be put off though, there are some very catchy numbers and, once you get past the sometimes bizarre lyrics, this is a very well put together and enjoyable effort. But be warned – if you’re expecting a return to the familiar musical style of old-school Verve, you’re in for a bit of a shock.

Rodge Tapply, ex-RE