Album review: Band Of Skulls By Colin Somerville, Alison Kerr, Norman Chalmers, Alexander Bryce Published on Tuesday 21 February 2012 00:00 Our music writers review the pick of this week's longplayer releases Band Of Skulls Sweet Sour Electric Blues Recordings, £11.99 If the Southampton trio did not exist, you would have to invent them to fill that White Stripes shaped hole in your life. Even if the three years spent toiling over this follow-up fails to put a new spin on the minimal heavy blues rock that fired their debut, the grungy guts of The Devil Takes Care Of His Own or Lies remain a guilty pleasure. The more restrained Navigate and Close To Nowhere demonstrate a more than adequate mellow appeal, but steering a steady middle course on You're Not Pretty But You've Got It Going On strikes the best balance. Download this: Navigate, Lies Lambchop City Slang, £13.99 Rating; *** To take liberties with the old blues lyric, Kurt Wagner has been down so long, it must seem like up to him. Long-term producer and band mate Mark Nevers has muttered about this being a psycho Sinatra record, but in truth Mr M is closer to Richard Hawley doing Americana. Not that this need be a bad thing, but If Not I'll Just Die establishes a heavy tone that never really lightens up until Gone Tomorrow steps in with a jauntier swing, which is swiftly stifled with the sombre Mr Met. It's all beautifully crafted but with any joy muted beyond recognition. Download this: Betty's Overture, Never My Love Oliver Jones Live In Baden, Switzerland Justin Time, JUST 243-2, £12.99 Some recordings of concert performances lose their edge and excitement in the translation to disc - but this CD of a 1990 gig by Canadian pianist Oliver Jones's trio (Reggie Johnson on bass and Ed Thigpen on drums) explodes into life from the first track, a rousing Falling In Love With Love, and is dynamic and thrilling all the way through. He may be cut from the same cloth as Oscar Peterson, but Jones has a distinct piano personality, and a notable gospel influence. Download this: Emily, Blues For Helen Lilith Dancing Of The Light Artes Records ARCD3045, online only If it's still a bit premature for the Caledonian/German quartet's summer-flavoured second album, their music does have a free and easy feel, as Aaron Jones and Gudrun Walther lead on vocals, while partners Claire Mann and Jurgen Treyz stack up the harmony. Instrumentally they're all seasoned performers, turning out interesting accompaniment to the very varied songs, and deftly articulate instrumentals - on fiddles, flutes, button accordion and frets - often in tricky time. Listen, and catch a suntan. Download this: Mondlicht Johann Sebastian Bach Goldberg Variations Hyperion CDA67826, £12.99 Many of Johann Sebastian Bach's works were composed for their audiences to play themselves, in an age when music-making was a skill practised by men and women for their own as well as others" pleasure. Since harpsichords weren't instruments that everyone could own, music like the Goldberg Variations essentially aimed at the well-to-do. One of a small number of Bach's compositions published in his lifetime, the Variations soon attracted attention, and not just because they comprised the largest single piece of keyboard music published to date. They were also eminently playable by anyone with both the skill and stamina to do so. Dmitry Sitkovetsky's arrangement of the Variations for string trio doesn't detract in any way from the original, and the Leopold Strong Trio does the work full justice. Hugely enjoyable playing. Download this: Aria da capo