The Burns Unit – Side Show

Brought together through a song writing workshop held in a farmhouse in the west of Scotland, this conglomerate supergroup contains more notable members than my word count will allow, suffice to say King Creosote, Emma Pollock, Karine Polwart and Future Pilot A.K.A feature prominently.

Whatever runs through the taps of Barncrosh farmhouse, pipe it this way please, as it has bred an album of great depth and astounding breadth, traipsing through English language chanson, hip-hop, folk and pop with surprising consistency. The Pollock-led Trouble could get very friendly with the radio, but her real shining point is on You Need Me To Need This, which moves from torch song to sea shanty, bleeding a trail of red wine all the way.

The Discovery of the album, however, has to be MC Soom T, whose politically charged rapping over the Bollywood punk of Send Them Kids To War is both exhausting and exhilarating. [Oisín Kealy]