A grim struggle to the death on the blogs between American and British music again today, though it seems America's interests are being defended primarily by an Estonian. Meanwhile, here, the reliably lucid Glory asks whether my taste "is more geared towards American styles of music (eg Americana) or because you think American artists are generally more talented than British artists?" A bit of both, perhaps. I certainly think artists like Jamie T are talented, but they're part of a musical tradition which I'm not really partial to. It seems that, given the relative size of America to Britain, there should be many more interesting bands there. But as I've said before, I'm also conscious of personally fetishising American music: at home last night, I noticed for the first time in ages, a quote from Adorno that my wife had pinned over the desk years ago - "It is part of morality not to be at home in one's home." Still, I'm determined to prove that I have a healthy open mind towards the music of my motherland. So I've spent this morning hunting for some British music to write about. The Queens Of The Stone Age preview will have to wait a day or two. Instead, here are the Vibracathedral Orchestra, a reliably magnificent bunch of skronky improvisers based in Leeds. I'd like to say that "Wisdom Thunderbolt", the latest in a large, obscure and very fine sequence of albums, is in some way quintessentially British. Actually, though, it closely resembles the commune jams served up by those avant-garde tribes on the fringes of the American psych/folk scene - Sunburned Hand Of The Man, Jackie O Motherfucker, the No Neck Blues Band, The Vanishing Voice, that kind of thing. Chris Corsano, something of a regular on this blog (he's also on the new Bjork record) emphasises the connection by turning up on the best track here, "A Natural Fact". Vibracathedral specialise in a sort of frantic, ecstatic drone that veers all over the place. The few times I've seen them live, they're a pretty remarkable spectacle: high, rearing epiphanies being conjured up by intense types crawling about on the floor and swapping instruments on a whim. There's a good joke after a fashion here, too, when "Sway-Sage" starts with a swaggering orthodox metal riff before being overwhelmed by a truly awe-inspiring cacophony. Someone whoops in the middle of it, and I can see their point. Bracing stuff, which you can experience with a live snippet here. I think I saw this show, actually. The other thing I found is a single by Wild Beasts called "Through Dark Night". Wild Beasts appear to be from the Lake District, and have got that sort of shambling, romantic charm that I keep being told is in bands like The Maccabees and Larrikin Love, but which I can never detect myself. "Through Dark Night" sways unsteadily like early Orange Juice, has a deeply equine clip-clop rhythm, and a singer whose incredibly mannered falsetto yodel is, I suspect, an acquired taste. I like it a lot, and the flipside, "Please, Sir", is good, too - it reminds me of The Servants' track on "C86", though I haven't heard it in years. I'll check with the office's resident ex-member of The Servants and report back, but have a listen at good old Myspace and see what you think.

Plenty of traffic on the blog these past few days in response to my White Stripes and Arctic Monkeys stories. Someone called The_Glory wades into the argument about overhyped British bands with a bunch of decent points, notably, "Why judge bands on their nationality anyway?" It's a fair question, but I don't think that's what we were talking about on this thread, exactly. For my part, it's a simple fact that the music I like is generally American rather than British, and it seems interesting to try and work out why that is. I do agree with The_Glory that we should be wary of focusing on 'hype' as a subject. But at the same time, there's a post from RockyJ that claims, interestingly, "the ambition of American radio stations to popularise British indie bands is overwhelming". Is this true, folks? I'm not too keen on getting hung up on the machinations of the music business on Wild Mercury Sound. Nevertheless, the idea that you can't switch the radio on in America without hearing, I don't know, Little Man Tate is pretty fascinating. Anyway, I did spend the weekend (well, some of it) playing the Arctic Monkeys album, and I'm now more convinced than ever that it's a quite brilliant record - far better than that gilded debut, for a start. And, sorry, but it still makes me wonder why more of their British contemporaries aren't this ambitious, why other lyricists sound artless and parochial where Alex Turner can be so subtle and affecting about ostenisbly the same subject matter? Talent, I suppose. Moving on. Justifiable excitement over here and here about the White Stripes album. Unlike many of you, I find it impossible to choose which is the best of their albums. I know this is an absolution of anal-retentive critical responsibility, but I like them all for different reasons. I'd caution anyone who expects the new one to be a straight retread of the first album, though; for all its raw power, "Icky Thump" is a much more layered, denser listen in general. There's a note on the press release that describes it as being the first Stripes album recorded in a proper modern studio, and trust me, you can tell the difference. Ed asks what "A Martyr For My Love For You" is like on the album. The pathetic truth, Ed, is I can't rememember much about that track from my solitary listen. If it's any help, the notes I scrawled at the time read, "layered, richer - acoustic looping - humming, rearing - Led Zep (2?)- organ - but again and again he blasts structure, adds weird stops, frequencies." Is that any use? I'm not sure. Finally in today's shapeless ramble, a quick mention for the second album by Jana Hunter. Just when you think the market for Devendra Banhart's mates is saturated, another good one comes along. Hunter is from Texas, and her first album (on Banhart and Andy Cabic's Gnomonsong label, like this one) was nice enough, but not really enough to separate her from those other second-string acid-folk types like Diane Cluck. "There's No Home" is lovely, though: a fuller band sound, often reminiscent of Cabic's band Vetiver - that woody, sleepy, home-cooked thing. Jana's Myspace is here. Give "Babies" a play and let me know what you think.