When will I be famous: James Yorkston, Adem Ilhan, Ten Speed Racer

Out of the fertile Fife soil that produced the Beta Band, James Yorkston and his band, the excellently named Athletes, have just produced one of the most rewarding and unexpected pleasures of the year so far with their album Moving Up Country. Sadly, the Athletes haven't yet deigned to move down to play in this part of the country, so Yorkston, a bluff figure with a truly impressive forehead that gives him the intellectual-actor look that all Scottish musicians seemed to possess in the Eighties, is backed by his usual percussionist, Faisal Rahman, on squeezebox and a curious kick-pedal set-up.

His album, an expansive if delicately arranged collection that should appeal to anyone ever fond of middle-class folk rock, is beyond re-creation with such a limited line-up, so we're treated instead to superb stark versions of songs such as the new single, "St Patrick", and the traditional "I Know My Love". Yorkston's acoustic guitar-playing is a revelation, too, fantastically percussive and deceptively simple in style. (He admits to a fondness for untraditional sources such as Madagascar's lauded D'Gary.) Who needs a bass-player when they've got a thumb like his? Full-band shows later in the year should be eagerly anticipated.

Equally fascinating in support is Adem Ilhan, best known as a member of Fridge, perhaps the world's leading techno-folk instrumental combo, who were once utilised as Badly Drawn Boy's backing-outfit. Though raw (he promises to put together a full band soon, which should be worth catching) he has some exceptionally good songs, many of which tantalisingly stop rather than outstay their welcome. Both men, refreshingly, work in a folk tradition that turns to native British sources, rather than following the recently fashionable American models of Will Oldham and Bill Callahan.

Dublin's Ten Speed Racer, popular enough at home to sell out decent-sized rooms, seem nonplussed to find themselves playing on a Sunday night in an empty venue occupied entirely by folks who appear to have been drinking constantly since Ronaldo popped in his second goal. The quintet, including three brothers called Barrett, bash out an aggressive if somewhat dissonant form of indie rock vaguely reminiscent of Guided by Voices and those classic misfits Idlewild. Their best songs, such as "Knife" and the current single, "Listen to Bits", are better than merely promising, though. They may yet lack that one stand-out tune that could make them break through, but they warrant investigation in more convivial surroundings.

James Yorkston and the Athletes play De Montfort Hall and Gardens, Leicester, on Sunday