You know, almost the biggest band in the world, singer draws on his hands, quite likes yellow. Previously only available in Japan, Mr Chris Martin re-wrote the lyrics for this stormer, taking time out in New York to re-sing them. Then it was down to producer and officially the nicest man in the world, Mr Mark 'Spike' Stent, who stayed up all night remixing. No cocktails on the patio for our Spike… which is perhaps why the likes of U2, Madonna and Oasis have never asked us to produce their albums. What? The track? Oh. Sensational, naturally.

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This is Dallas Green’s other project. You know Dallas, singer and guitarist with the mighty Alexisonfire. So this will be the loudest song on the album, right? Er, wrong. City and Colour is Dallas’ alter-ego, all chilled-out guitar licks, mellow strumming and sublime vocals. A quite lovely surprise.

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Delivered from, where else, Hong Kong, not only is this the furthest a track has travelled to reach us (7096 miles no less), not only is it seven entire minutes of eastern-infused loveliness, but if this is Gorillaz, we're a monkey's uncle. Stopping off en route to China, Damon turns in his finest piece of work since 'Tender' and it's an absolute stunner. All manner of eastern noises are evident here, and if you can identify some of the instruments, we'd be grateful. Check out especially the outro, which could lullaby even the most restless of babies into deep, restful sleep.

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It’s been far, far too long. Three whole years since Hail To The Thief. So, after the neurotic electronica of the Kid A years could this be where the band is headed next? If so, where they’re going is tunewards. A circular piano riff with Thom accompanied by what could well be a choir of angels, 'I Want None Of It' is a thing of awe and wonder. The lyrics deal with a parting of the ways that hasn't gone too well: 'You can keep what you want, I want none of it/They're just bad memories I don't want'. Very beautiful, very wonderful, very Radiohead.

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We’re reliably informed that this is a song close to Sam’s heart and that he’s been searching for a great home for it for some time. Well, we hope it will be very happy here. We’re more than delighted to have such a quintessentially Sam Roberts tune. West Coast harmonies, guitars that remind us of either the Beatles or The Byrds, we’re not sure which, and a tune you’ll be whistling all the way to school. Magic on our album, to be sure.

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So what’s this then? A little bit rock, a little bit reggae, did Joe Strummer and Bob Marley secretly work together? Sadly not, but what we do have is the excellent Bedouin Soundclash – Toronto via Kingston and West London. They were the sound of last summer with When The Night Feels My Song, so what better way to enjoy the last weeks of patio weather than with this perfectly blended musical cocktail.

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According to Wikipedia, The Weakerthan’s ‘blend of punk-inflected folk rock with literate, witty, introspective lyrics have made them one of the most popular bands in the current Canadian music scene.’ They certainly don’t disappoint on this slice of, well, punk-inflected folk rock. The guitar break in the middle is worth the entrance money alone, while the lyrics talk about wanting to be a toothbrush. Well, we’ve all been there.

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Popular from London, England to London, Ontario, Murray Lightburn and friends bring us yet another inspired take on that thing we call pop. With more hooks than Captain Bob's Fishing Emporium, by the time the full band kicks in we can guarantee you’ll be singing along. In public. And quite probably with your hands in the air.

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We’re such huge fans of Damien here at War Child, that we were quite emotional when he agreed to appear on 'Help: A Day In The Life'. And that was before we'd even heard the track. All the ingredients for a sublime Damien contribution are here. There's the soft-quilted acoustic guitar loveliness, the more than subtle string arrangements and, of course, Lisa Hannigan's gorgeous voice. Oh, and melancholy by the bucketload. It's a gentle whisper of a song, barely there, almost like it's just woken up. Truly lovely stuff and one of two tracks that managed to give us goosebumps on first listen. The other? Well that would be telling...

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Keane turn in a spectacular cover. It's exactly what you would want this to sound like, helped along by some telling touches from Faultline. The original Elton John version was released way back in 1973. Such was the quality of music back then, ahem, the song only got to Number Six in the UK singles chart. Interestingly, the song appears to be about a farmer's son leaving his rich lover: 'You can't plant me in your penthouse/I'm going back to my plough'. Quite.

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Younger readers may want to ask their parents about this band. The words ‘legendary’ and ‘seminal’ spring to mind. You see, The Payolas ruled the roost in the eighties but have been silent for over twenty years. So what’s with this track? Well, it’s like this. Bob Rock is an executive producer on Help; A Day In The Life, but was that enough? Not likely. He only went and reformed his old band. And lucky for us that he did, given the quality oozing from every pore of this song. Now go and check out No Stranger To Danger. It’s produced by Mick Ronson, you know, from the Spiders…oh, never mind.

Welcome to the house of fun. Yes, it's the Marvin Gaye classic, only seen through the ears of the ever-inventive Kaiser Chiefs. So keen were they not to be left out, the boys took on an even bigger challenge than most to feature on this album. See, they were on tour in Germany and had just three hours in a Berlin studio to get the track down. It is, as you can imagine, something very, very special. The sound of south Yorkshire, England, but with the funk applied by the spadeful, and the soul in bucketfuls. Apparently, Motown supremo Berry Gordy was so unimpressed by Marvin Gaye's original he didn't want it to be released at all. There'll be no such trouble with yer Chiefs' version.

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After all that six string action get ready to embrace the edgy, urban phenomenon that is Buck 65. Known to his dad as Richard Terfry, he has been making records under numerous monikers since the early 90s. He was born in Mount Uniake, Nova Scotia, not that you’d know it from this. With rumbling bass, crunching beats and a vocal reflecting the strange, paranoid times we live in, this reminds us of such criminally underrated artists as Consolidated and Meat Beat Manifesto. We're not sure what Mr. Terfry makes of it but we love it.

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Ah, one of our favourite bands, a view shared by Raine Maida, this album’s producer. It took just the one listen to assure this song a place on the record and heavy rotation on the office stereo. The Chart Attack website gave a recent Jets show an 86 rating, meaning they ‘rocked us so hard we peed our pants’, which we take to be a good thing. If this lot aren’t huge by this time next year then you, the kids, are just plain wrong.

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So Surefire sent a CD to the office with a song called War Child. We took one listen and thought, that’s a damn fine song, let’s put it on the album. ‘Oh great’ said Surefire and promptly re-recorded it, changing the words and the title to Surrender. Still, we let them off ‘cause it’s a top tune. Surefire are on the same label as The Killers, fact fans, so expect to hear a lot more of them very, very soon.

A track we can only describe as epic. This is guitars we'd be contractually obliged to call 'glacial' if this were the late 80s, while Kele's vocals soars like prime Robert Smith. Just when you think it's peaked, yet another wave of guitars crashes in, the bass throbs and Kele at his most swoonsome sings, 'They say time is a healer/And time will look after you/I can't wait, I can't wait I can't wait I can't wait/Oh, come over'. Astonishing, quite frankly.

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Taking time out from leading the Canadian charge across the Atlantic, Emily and James contribute their take on Mr Zimmerman’s break-up classic. No fancy footwork, no clever, clever arrangements just a great cover of one of the best songs ever written. A band incapable of wasting anyone’s precious time.

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Lebo Kgasapane was just 22 when she passed away from an AIDS related illness. Her greatest wish was to be a singer and appear on a record the world would hear. With this stunning song, Raine Maida and Chantal Kreviazuk make that dream a reality. Featuring Lebo herself and her best friend, Archie Khambula, this is the best possible celebration of her life.

Watch "Lebo's River" - hi . lo

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