The White Stripes' 6th album is simply better than ever, Ray LaMontagne carries an authenticity that doesn't come across in other singer-songwriters and Calvin Harris offers music for the dancefloor.

The White Stripes
Icky Thump XL
****
For all their raw power, The White Stripes have always been much more than a shouty garage band. On their sixth album, Jack and Meg White have swapped the piano which dominated 2005's Get Behind Me Satan for mariachi trumpet in US big band leader Corky Robbins's Conquest and, of all things, bagpipes on the hootenanny that is Prickly Thorn But Sweetly Worn, an advertisement-in-waiting for the Scottish Tourist Board. In less maverick hands than the formerly wedded couple, such musical perversity (Rag and Bone recasts the Whites as rag and bone men knocking on doors and asking for toilet seats) might seem contrived, but somehow the seeming mess coalesces into a coherent, thrilling whole. Better than ever.
JOHN AIZLEWOOD

Ray LaMontagne
Till the Sun Turns Black(14th Floor)
****
Maybe it's his background as a carpenter, the weary huskiness of his voice, or simply his big bushy beard, but Ray LaMontagne carries an authenticity that just doesn't come across in the music of James Morrison or most of the other moist-eyed singer-songwriters. He sounds as if he is singing because he needs to, not because his debut album was a major word-of-mouth success so he might as well make another one.
This follow-up to Trouble - an album chart mainstay - was quietly made available here after its US release last autumn, but Monday's full release should see it acquire the huge audience it deserves. It sees LaMontagne adding lush strings and soulful horns to his austere acoustic sound, while that ragged voice elevates every song to a class of its own.
DAVID SMYTH

Calvin Harris
I Created Disco (Sony/BMG)
***
His impossibly catchy top 10 club hit, Acceptable in the Eighties, has rightly thrust this 23-year-old Dumfries-based bedroom producer into the limelight. His debut album offers more of the same accessible disco house fare, with Harris's cheeky lyrics and versatile vocals
keeping things fresh throughout. With a squelchy synth loop and sexy, mischievous druggy innuendos, Merrymaking at My Place sets the tone, while the hitworthy single, The Girls, sees Harris in ironic ladies' man mode. However, Colours and This Is the Industry are uninspiring pieces of electro-by-numbers that give the impression of having been rushed out in time for a hasty album release. What saves the album, though, is its constant injection of fun and boundless energy that's sure to enhance dancefloors throughout the summer.
CHRIS ELWELL-SUTTON

Radio String Quartet
Celebrating the Mahavishnu Orchestra
(ACT Records)
****
Even those not crazy about jazz by string quartets (including myself) must admit that this young German group makes a fine job of a formidable project. For two violins, viola and cello to convey the grainy electronic textures of the Mahavishnu Orchestra, let alone the jagged force of John McLaughlin's themes and their manic jazz-rock momentum, is an impressive achievement. Hats off to Bernie Mallinger, Johannes Dickbauer, Cynthia Liao and Asja
Valcic, plus their arranger Klemens Bittmann. Fans of the delighted McLaughlin, who contributes a humble sleevenote, will find all his best compositions here, including the gigantic, fugue-like Dance of Maya and an earlier masterpiece, You Know You Know. Later, check out those burning albums of 35 years ago.
JACK MASSARIK

Authenticite
The Syliphone Years (Sterns)
*****
Guinea often gets musically overshadowed by its powerful neighbours, Mali and Senegal. But many of the same ingredients that make those territories so rich are to be found in Guinea. There's the legacy of the powerful Mande Empire, the influence of popular Cuban sounds and the strong desire to create a national sound post-independence in 1958. This double CD collects recordings of the celebrated national and regional orchestras released on the state label Syliphone from 1965 to 1980, including top bands Bembeya Jazz, Keletigui and Balla et ses Balladins, and other little-known gems. With sweet vocals, swinging saxophones and fizzing guitars, President Seckou Toure; isn't remembered for his democratic credentials, but for his musical legacy.
SIMON BROUGHTON