The Bonus Track: Damien Jurado, Laura Cantrell, Connan Mockasin, Omar Souleyman, Bombay Bicycle Club

A sideways look at the world of music

Public apology No 1

Look, sorry, OK? Thing is, if you review CDs as part of your job, you get sent a lot of music and sometimes you judge things through the prism of your own prejudices. And so it was that a week or two back I saw an album by Damien Jurado and dismissed it as another singer-songwriterly thing that would fail to grab my attention. I was wrong. Brothers and Sisters of the Eternal Son is a small-p psychedelic, faintly funky thing that will appeal to fans of Midlake, Fleet Foxes and Matthew E White. Amends made?

No angel

To celebrate the recent ­formation of the Americana Music ­Association UK, a series of concerts will take place next month in the lovely setting of Kings Place, in central London. Particularly exciting is the return to these shores of John Peel favourite Laura Cantrell, who headlines on 13 February. Watch Cantrell perform Kitty Wells' "I Don't Claim to be an Angel"

Connan the contrarian

If you think all modern pop sounds alike, go see one of the UK shows this week by New Zealand's Connan Mockasin. whose fans include Radiohead, James Blake and Warpaint to name a few. Mockasin claims not to have listened to any music from the past 10 years, and it shows. Watch the video for "I'm the Man, That Will Find You"

Sheik your booty

Even more out there than Mockasin is the forthcoming Acid Arab album (out 3 February), which blends acid-house beats with Middle Eastern vocals. Watch Omar Souleyman’s collaboration with Four Tet

Next week's biggie...

Kevin Harley reviews Bombay Bicycle Club’s third album So Long, See You Tomorrow. Watch the video for “Carry Me”