First up it's LCD Soundsystem and new album 'Sound Of Silver' (EMI, 12.04.07). What is the sound of silver? I don't know. I'd imagine it to be kind tinny, perhaps shiny, definitely metally – and polished up, you might be even able to see elements of other things in it – like X-Press 2's 'Lazy' for instance, if the deeply robotic (yet surprisingly funky) cue-up track 'Get Innocuous' is anything to go by. Is that David Byrne hamming it up on the queerly treated vocals? No it's James Murphy – the father, the son and the holy f***ing dogs testicles behind the project – a project that includes at various and timely intervals folks like David Gold on viola (of all things), Lorenza Ponce on violin (of all things), Jane Scarpantoni on cello (of all things) – in addition to the midas production fingers of the DFA – who are so shockingly credible that any self-respecting hack would be shooting themselves in the foot to describe them as anything other than 'genius'. And here they are adding adhoc chops and shocks to a mix already bristling with no-end of hooks, crooks and post-punk motifs. But the real difference this time round are the tracks themselves. This time round Murphy has donated half the production proceeds to coming up with actual songs – and like most folks his age, the first port of call is doing a passable imitation of Jack White – which is precisely what you get on 'Time To Get Away'. But there are more genuine surprises too: 'Someone Great' sidesteps the predominantly cool but soulless routine with something that could have arrived out of a shower of pastel-coloured meteors and gentle eighties synth-poppery. It's lovely. So too is 'All My Friends'. Even the heavy-handed Heaven 17isms of 'Sound Of Silver' offer tidy little shafts of hope and by the time the thoroughly wrong-footing leap of chamber-pop faith 'New York, I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down' slumps down at your side like the most charming of drunks, you're completely won over …

And 'won over' is perversely what we still are by those stereotypically Appalachian hellraisers, Hayseed Dixie. No the joke has not worn off – but in an era increasingly at peace with roots music and geriatrics with real instruments (even DJs like Derek), the initial funny story has morphed into a warm (perhaps even tasteful) discharge of ridiculously well-played covers that have a charm and a relevance that far exceeds the shitty puns and theatrical red-neck silliness. Naturally I look at the cover and am tempted to write the whole thing off before even listening to it: 'Weapons Of Grass Destruction' (Cooking Vinyl, 09.04.07). And the cover-art is even worse: four-gurning former session hands maltreated with Adobe Photo Shop plug-ins. Curiosity gets the better of me, however, especially as these 'good ol boys' are doing covers of tracks as far-fetching and far-reaching as 'Strawberry Fields Forever', Cliff Richard's 'Devil Woman', the Scissor Sisters' 'I Don't Feel Like Dancin', the Pistols' 'Holidays In The Sun' (bloody marvellous) and the Stone's 'Paint It Black'. And it doesn't disappoint either. They're not just chuffing about anymore and showing off, they're really connecting with the tunes and adding something of their own. 'Course writing right off the top of your head like this makes you say silly things, and the last line was no exception – but any band that can take Strawberry Fields Forever' and morph it into 'Cotton Eye Joe' deserves a hasty accolade or two, and this is afterall the band's most comfortable release to date. Absorbing even …

Deniece William's 'Love, Nicey Syle' (Shanachie, 24.04.07)' is on the otherhand, strictly more 'absorbent' than 'absorbing', using it as I have as a tea coaster for the last few weeks with surprising efficiency, and though her cheery pudgy chops are now somewhat soiled by the odd spill, I can still see clearly enough why I've avoided it for so long: it's cheesey, very cheesey. Finely manicured nails, some lovely golden highlights, a sprinkling of bling and a big fat cheesey grin. Like Gary Wilmot in drag. And the music? Pretty much what you'd expect from cuddly R&B diva of her ilk: treacly, cloying, and arguably more over-produced than a Peter Jackson fantasy epic – including extended scenes. Coupled with a press release that must have cost a small rainforest to produce the whole thing is a fairly intimidating proposition. In true Troy McClure stylee, you may know Deniece from such hits as 'Let's Hear It For The Boy', the gold-certified, 'This Is Nicey' album and for being one of Stevie Wonder;s 'Miracles'. All former glories of which she's not unwilling to exploit both in the tile of the album and the appearance of Little Stevie himself. George Duke and Earth Wind and Fire's Phillip Bailey also appear, which is something of a surprise in itself given that I thought they all died over a century ago . ..

Next up is the Mitchell & Dewbury Band and 'Beyond The Rains' (Mr Bongo, 23.04.07). The sleeve? Tasty and retro this time. As cheeseless and cheese cake. Lightly psychedelic and letting you know in no uncertain terms that you're likely to be dealing with something inordinately funky and fly. And they say you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. Why else would books have them? And first indications are as first indications suggest: spirits beyond the fringes of the known and unknown worlds leaping, splitin' and slidin' like James Brown across an astral body of latin, beats, afro tenderness, gospel joy and hippy sentiments. And what's all this? Russ Dewbury is the 'sole power behind the Jazz Rooms, Britain's longest running club session and also responsible for Brighton's World famous Jazz Bops'. A producer, Dewbury is also known as Sao Benitez. Mitchell, on the otherhand, is the founder member of Mr Hermano. Nuff said …

Remember when Johnny Depp greets Charlie and his cocoa-horts in Charlie and The Chocolate Factory with the introduction, 'Good morning starshine, the Earth says hello! Well this is a bit like that. It's slightly creepy, slightly juvenile and perhaps too sodding whimsical for it's own good. Whether it helps any, Monta is Tobias Kuhn, formerly singer of Miles and bagger of a prestigious Sunday Times Album of The Week – and whilst the soft-focus, drone of the guitar, the casual piano chords and the muffled growl of his six-string electric barely rises above a whisper there's a melodic intelligence and an innocence not unlike Kuhn's contemporaries Elliot Smith and Badly Drawn Boy. Love, estrangement, doubt, certainty, disappointment, strangely discordant sound effects, bone-rattling percussion and unbearably sweet homespuness – it's all present and correct and not at all unpersuasive. Slacker acoustic surf dude stuff. And generous with it: Monta: 'The Brialliant Masses' (Kelin Records, 09.02.07)

Time just for a couple more namechecks methinks: Coffinberry, 'God Dam Dogs': clangy, wilfully off-kilter post-punk. At least that's what it says here and they're not far wrong. Throw into the pot some typically 'Walkmen' slovenliness, some Ramones pop know how and some Pixies-style silliness and you have a perfectly adequate screaming indie-garage band capable of guttural, crooning greatness: 'Freeway Ends' and 'Aims Retreat' worthy of particular mention. Recorded and produced by Guided By Voices and Circus Devils gentleman, Todd Tobias. On the evidence of the few listens I've given it, I have to say it's really rather good. Finally we have Lethal & Destruction's 'The Journey' (Bleak House, 04.07). In my time, duos used to go by the name of Hugh and Cry, Flo and Eddie, Hall and Oats – Christ, even Hale and Pace – but not anymore. It's got a lot more nasty. Really nasty. 'Lethal & Destruction'. Of course, it would ruin it to learn that the boys first names were something like 'Lionel' or 'Keith', but just imagine how the sixties might have turned out if we'd had 'Kalashnikov and Garfunkel', 'Da Bandit and Gordon' or even that harmless boy-girl folk trio, 'Peter, Paul and Crazy Ho da Hustler'. By grime standards this stuff's fairly old school: two turntables and a mic with a handful of low-key production credits thrown in for good measure. The upside? The emceeing is tight, well structured and coherent and the social and cultural focus sharp. The downside is that it's so old-school the last decade and a half seem to have been completely lost on the duo and one eye on the charts has arguably seen the boys lose some of their edge. Occasionally more 2step garage than hip-hop – but it's harmless enough, the pair's smooth, rubbery raps just about saving the day. Yoof is definitely on their side.

And now I've got to get off and have some tea. We're 'avin hoops...