This Spin on it features tracks from Band of Horses, late-sities blues godfathers Blind Faith and chill-mongers The Gotan Project

Opening with jangly, trembling guitars, ‘No One’s Gonna Love You’, the 2nd single from Band of Horses’ sophmore release, ‘Cease to Begin’, lays on levels of sentimentality pulled together by Ben Bridwell’s soaring vocals. This track is indicative of the changes that have obviously undergone the band since their debut and lays down firm expectations for the rest of the album, expectations, which I’m pleased to say, are not disappointed.

In a similar, country-inspired direction, Blind Faith were a supergroup consisting of Eric Clapton from Cream, Stevie Winwood and Ginger Baker from The Spencer Davis Group and Rich Grech from prog outfit Family. Their only long-play release, the eponymously entitled ‘Blind Faith’ sees the group making the most of their virtuoso members exploring their roots in blues, rock’n'roll, organ heavy gospel and rambling progressive rock. ‘Can’t Find My Way Home’ layers fingered guitar over tempered banjo and minimal percussion. Winwood’s nigh-on falsetto is little short of shiver-inducing in this beautifully simple (in the hands of Blind Faith anyway) composition.

Talking about varied influences, the Swiss, French and Argentine parties that form lounge lizards The Gotan Project obviously have strong links to Latin American music, and tango in particular. How do I know this? Well it’s not just the title of their debut ‘La Revancha del Tango’ that gives the game away. The ever-present accordion of ‘Queremos Paz’ and sparse Latin rhythms intermingles what could loosely be described as ‘world music’ (as much as I hate that label) with more accessible ‘chill out’ (another label I despise) drum and bass. Considering all of the negativity I could attach to this offering, why then do i like it so much? It’s the genius of the mix. There is enough variety in the underlying composition to complement the exotic accordion and create a sophisticated, laid back, Sunday afternoon of a track.