Other commitments (such as playing guitar in Broken Social Scene) mean that it’s five years since Jason Collett’s first solo album. Idols of Exile is a little more traditional and a little more alt-country than the Social Scene, but fans will want to investigate, and not just because many of Collett’s bandmates crop up here — alongside members of Do Make Say Think, Stars and Metric. Collett’s songwriting easily matches the level of talent on show, stretching his rootsy template far enough for it to bring to mind Wilco, Josh Rouse and Marc Bolan. And if you approach this as a Broken Social Scene side project, you’ll soon discover that Collett hasn’t, judging by the level of polish applied to tracks such as We All Lose One Another and I’ll Bring the Sun. The former unpacks those old Wild Horses chord changes; the latter could be the Replacements, fronted by Jeff Tweedy, having a go at a Cure cover, and is equally infectious.

City Slang

Editor's choice

• Burning Bush with W
• Revolution at the new Saatchi Gallery
• Boy George on sex, drugs and Amy Winehouse