THE LATEST ALBUM REVIEWS

Canada's best band (did you hear that Arcade Fire?) release their second album, after the disappointment of their dull debut which should have got them arrested for crimes against indie - although Your English Is Good single was rather cool and Strokesy.

The pre-debut mini album A Lesson In Crime found them on the brink of the big time in the US and this new collection reminds us why the band briefly got some of us excited.

The opening Favourite Food is like (great) Hot Hot Heat stuff, while Wait Up crams in the entire career of The Cure in under 3 minutes. Impressive! It might have its fair share of weak spots - especially the back third, which almost makes the 'Champ' title misjudged.

This album is as about as good as low-fi fuzzy pop punk/indie can get without fully converting you...and they are (still) one of the most promising young bands out there! What do you mean you've never heard of them? Check them out! It's the law.
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The Street's protege Stephen Manderson (for his real name isn't Professor Green, surprisingly) has taken the baton from mentor Mike Skinner and bagged himself a couple of Top 5 hits.

It's pop music, yes, but it is bright pop that has a bit of a dark underbelly - sounding a bit like a miffed Lily Allen and Eminem collaboration album.

Kicking off with opener in Kids That Love To Dance - featuring soulful UK rising talent Emeli Sande - which is funkier than a tramp's underpants. Oh My God (feat Labyrinth) is a not a Kaiser Chiefs cover and is definitely a one of the highlights, with the Prof's flow out in full force.

The album is Hip Hop meets Pop...err...Hip Pop? Lead singles Need You Tonight and the Lily Allen featured Just Be Good To Green aren't actually too bad you know. OK, it seems a bit chavvy and you may need a big soapy wash afterwards, but at least it's better than Eminem's latest!

This is a satisfying alternate to the dull mainstream pop, but Electric Banana still haven't forgiven him for sampling INXS! Has he got no taste? *Shudders*
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Have everyone's favourite Scouse band developed from little indie caterpillars into big beautiful butterflys?

Bass-playing hero, Mani, recently said Butterfly House is the "best thing I've heard since the first [Stone] Roses album". Is he right or does he have to visit Wilkies for some cotton buds?

Probably. Although, to be fair, it's a fantastic album. It is channelling familiar Coral influences - The Byrds, The Zombies, Love, Simon and Garfunkel - into sweetly melody-ridden rolling Scouse psychedelia.

Single 1000 Years is chilled-out Beach boys, the great North Parade sounds like it was accidently missed off the Stone Roses' Second Coming, while opener More Than a Lover could (in places) be the faster indie alternative to Bon Jovi's Wanted Dead or Alive.

This new collection is fantastic, but is sadly perhaps lacking a soaring single - like Dreaming of You - to avoid the "butterfly net" that is stopping them flying high!
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Bombay Bicycle Club have traded in their bicycles for horses on this slowed down, clip-clop along, acoustic second album.

Gone are the stuttering indie dance sounds of first offering I Had The Blues And Shook Them Loose and in comes a sound that couldn't be more country if it wore spurs, spat in a bucket and had relations with its own sister.

Lead singer Jack Steadman's delicate vocals work superbly over the subtle harmonies and gentle strumming that feels like BBC have found their sound - which is pretty much all Steadman and not much of the rest leaving this feeling like more of a solo album.

High points include a cover of John Martyn's Fairytale Lullaby, which is lyrically head and shoulders above the rest of the album, and first single from the album Ivy & Gold which gallops a long like a horse and cart from a spaghetti western.

Flaws does indeed have its flaws, at times it can feel like folk by numbers, but it also has moments where the melody and vocals sound absolutely perfect.
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M.I.A. has caused a bit of excitement recently by killing gingers (not literally), words of war with journalists, numerous attempts to destroy the Sri Lankan tourist trade, crazy conspiracy theories and generally acting like a complete nutbox. BRILLIANT!

Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam releases her third album here, which has clattering industrial-esque beats and sounds like she is starting her own musical revolution inside your stereo.

However, the album's best bits are the pop moments. Tekqilla's chorus "I got sticky-sticky-icky-icky weed/like a shot of tequila in me," will get you happily drunk on it's catchy vibe! XXXO sounds like she has mugged and bitch-slapped Lady Gaga, while final track Space is a serene and dreamy finale that is like a big beautiful rainbow appearing after the harshest of storms.

While being both groundbreaking and occasionally brilliant, we wouldn't recommend listening to this album if you have just taken some Nurofen.
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The Eel Pie Island collective Mystery Jets have decided to jump on the bandwagon and write classic Eighties pop. *Sighs*. Hold on, it's actually rather friggin' good!

The title? Well, for all you boffins, Serotonin is a monoamine neurotransmitter, biochemically derived from tryptophan, that is primarily found in the gastrointestinal tract, platelets, and central nervous system of humans and animals. What? Well, it is a well-known contributor to feelings of well-being - just like this album!

Opener Alice Springs sounds like Arcade Fire doing a brilliant non-Christmassy Christmas song (if that makes sense), Show Me The Light sounds like U2 have gone disco...but in a good way, while the psych-pop swirl of Flash a Hungry Smile sounds like a Cockney MGMT.

A possible contender for album of 2010. Brilliant.
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