La Roux – La Roux

4/5

When the book is closed on 2009, the section entitled “pop music” will be

dominated by extravagant-looking females and 1980s synthesisers.

From across the pond we had Lady GaGa and closer to home came the uprising of

Little Boots, Florence And The Machine and Bat For Lashes.

Enter La Roux’s Elly Jackson. While it may be easier to give her self-titled

debut a miss – been there, done that – it would also be a mistake.

In For The Kill is already established as a club anthem and needs no

introduction, but in Quicksand, Bulletproof and I’m Not Your Toy she showcases

an ear for sparse, leftfield rhythms and a voice which, if not comforting, is

always engaging. RD

Various – Cream Ibiza

3/5

As an experience in musical osmosis for credit-crunched unfortunates unable

to get to the best party island in the Balearics, and as a useful refresher

course for intrepid danceheads who still can, Cream Ibiza offers the season’s

key tracks condensed into two CDs of aural sunshine, courtesy of big-name DJs

Eddie Halliwell and Sander Van Doorn.

Superclub Cream has become a super brand with the latest instalment in its

popular compilation range, offering such delights as the essential Spencer and

Hill reworking of Paul van Dyk’s seminal For An Angel, Pryda’s Lift and some

ingenious remixes of tracks by Faithless and Depeche Mode. PG

Gossip – Music For Men

3/5

Mirroring Beth Ditto’s eye-popping stage antics, Gossip love to strip things

down to the bare essentials and MFM mixes simple disco beats with funky hooks to

create a platform for the iconic singer’s vocal talents.

Moving away from the grungy sound behind 2006’s breakthrough album, Standing

in the Way of Control, producer Rick Rubin cajoles the trio from mosh-pit to

dancefloor.

In Heavy Cross, a blend of the Knightrider theme tune, INXS’s Suicide Blonde

and Franz Ferdinand, and Men in Love, there’s funk by the ladle-full.

Sadly, on the 10 remaining tracks, remixes aside, it’s spread too thin to

carry the album. OW

The Black Eyed Peas – The End

2/5

If you’re one of those irritating people who sit on the back seat of the bus

with god-awful music booming out of your mobile phone then you probably already

own this album.

Boom Boom Pow is a tub-thumping track which could easily become that song

that you cannot get out of your head at work all day.

Elsewhere, it’s all a bit predictable. Perhaps it’s a grower but I don’t

think my ears can take the gamble. TH

The Proclaimers – Notes And Rhymes

2/5

Having danced along in a hundred dingy nightclubs to an ironic – or is that

post-ironic? – DJ playing (I’m Gonna Be) 500 Miles, it is hard to know just how

serious one should take a new Proclaimers album.

Their eighth studio record sheds little light on the dilemma. At times, the

subject matter is overtly political, with unemployment, capitalism and war all

tackled.

But the unflinchingly lightweight backing, which positively defines the word

twee, along with by-numbers fillers such as Love Can Move Mountains, delivers a

mixed message. RD

Lenka – Lenka

3/5

After a successful acting career in her native Australia, and an equally

fruitful stint as singer with atmospheric group Decoder Ring, Lenka decided to

go it alone with a solo career.

But anyone thinking this is a typical Aussie-actress-turned-singer-type

affair will be disappointed – or quietly pleased, perhaps – with Lenka’s

offering.

Mixing the eclecticism of Feist, Regina Spektor and Lily Allen, she still

manages to keep her own unique voice. Single The Show is typically

radio-friendly, and while she might have an interesting past, on the strength of

Anything I’m Not and Like A Song, her future could be even more intriguing.

AW

Kish Mauve – Black Heart

3/5

London boy-girl dance-pop duo Kish Mauve has been on the scene for a few

years now, perhaps most famously as the brains behind Kylie Minogue’s hit 2

Hearts a couple of years back.

Debut album Black Heart sticks fairly consistently and competently to a

conventional upbeat pop formula, with big synthy choruses and a sprinkling of

distorted guitar for added grunt. The moodier songs on the second half of the

album are a little more interesting, with the closing I Love Your Rock’n’Roll

sounding not a little like early Spiritualized. SK

William Fitzsimmons – Goodnight

3/5

American folk singer William Fitzsimmons deals with the breakdown of his

parents’ marriage on this tender acoustic album, originally released in 2006.

His gentle vocals resemble those of Sufjan Stevens, but he lacks his

contemporary’s kaleidoscopic vision. However, a few tracks feature an electronic

undercurrent, coming on like a sleepier Postal Service.

Occasionally the album slips into sentimentality, as on the cringeworthy You

Broke My Heart, but for the most part Fitzsimmons creates a likeable album that

doesn’t get bogged down in its deeply personal themes. More pleasantly diverting

than perfect, there’s plenty to like here nonetheless. SH

Priscilla Ahn – A Good Day

3/5

Priscilla Ahn is a 25-year-old singer-songwriter from LA via a Pennsylvanian

sleepy hollow.

Despite being signed to jazz imprint Blue Note and sounding occasionally like

Norah Jones, she’s no jazzer – more a quirky valley girl with an ear for a tune

and a knack for writing personal, entertaining lyrics.

Opening track Dream, with looping backing vocals and fragile guitar, is

beautiful, while the ukulele ditty of Find My Way Back Home is another clear

highlight. AW

Reviews by Rory Dollard, Patrick Gates, Oliver Wright Terry Hall, Andy Welch, Steve Kerr and Simon Harker