Just when it seems that the guitar has been drafted into the exclusive service of the big trad wolf, Scots alchemists A.C. Acoustics return to prove that, in the right hands, rock can still be vital, experimental and... very cool. Their new album, 'O', is a collision of cloud- kissing tunes and juggernaut guitars on an epic scale. With a dynamic that effortlessly spans confessional intimacy and grand gesture it's set to become the most accomplished British rock record of the year. The follow-up to 2000's critically acclaimed 'Understanding Music' is another brilliant synthesis of noise and melody. At the centre is singer Paul Campion, a haunting and haunted presence with the wry passion of Leonard Cohen and the wired, androgynous fragility of Patti Smith. For once, it seems as though there's some point in four white boys rocking the guitar/bass/drums formula. A.C. Acoustics are driven, a band on fire.