Quite what a feat this represents reallyrather is unsure, but straight in at one on the album charts in Norway, Finland and Sweden goes Vapen & ammunition, new from Sweden's widescreen pop-rockers Kent. Almost certainly entirely predictable, almost certainly entirely agreeable in a chilly, soaringly melodic pop-rock kind of way. Not released elsewhere 'til later in the year, it's available now from Scandinavian retailer HotStuff, £12.50 all in...

Kent are borderline guilty pleasures - you know it's derivative, Radiohead-lite, etc .. and yet, and yet. Most definitely in the guilty pleasure category is the Butterfly Jones release, Napalm Springs. The title alone is warning enough ('Danger - ageing smart alecs at work'); the cover artwork similarly puts the toes on standby. And plenty of the lyrics and guitar grandstanding within finish the job - Alright with it's gruesome stab at Donald Fagen-esque sleezily hip storytelling (Freaks on the Strip, mad dogs, dodgy geezers called Ruiz, etc), the winsome When people are mean, various outbreaks of unwelcome Aerosmithery. And yet, and yet ... these guys can still turn out a hatful of hate-me-if-you-dare melodies. The aforementioned Alright is pulled back from the edge by its great chorus and lower down the order there's a pair of back-to-back pop winners in It's cool, dude (ouch) and the Ivy-like Dreamtime. The sound throughout is also seductively slick. But extended play definitely requires instant palette-cleansing - reallyrather finds The Strokes' album to be very handy in this respect...