Not long after the Americans opened for Sheffield's Milburn at The Leadmill guitarist Brandon Darner had a stroke on stage in London.

He recovered enough to rejoin his Iowa chums for fresh dates and to complete an album that fulfills and goes beyond their live promise.

At times Luke Petipole's vocals resemble Thom Yorke, not least on the early Radiohead-ish Rooftops.

Current single Story Problem was penned in jail following some out of character behaviour but much more here follows his pensive, considered live demeanour.

Dwell does as its title suggests: ponders, takes its time, and delivers much that is thrilling and lovely.

B-52s,
Funplex (EMI)

SOMETIMES the more individual a band the harder it is to come back.

Defined by style means either more of the same or abandoning what brought fame in the first place.

Such was the quandary faced by this quirky quartet.

Then the band behind Love Shack and Rock Lobster also brought much more they weren't so famous for – so their first studio album in 16 years is as fresh as it is dated.

While Pump recalls the cheeky swagger of the hits, REM's Georgia neighbours mix the trademark contrasting vocals of Fred and the ladies with songs that don't always target the party generation.

The result is occasionally dynamic, distinctively B-52s and, much like past endeavours, not exactly essential.

Tindersticks,
The Hungry Saw (Beggars Banquet)

Five years since Waiting For The Moon, sparse beginnings give way to an album as much fired by the input of new members as the traditions of inimitable singer Stuart Staples. For all its melancholy, humour and brooding, an album of subtlety and few rough edges.