Randy Newman lives an intriguing kind of double life. On the one hand he writes soaring, sentimental soundtracks for movies like Monsters Inc, Meet The Parents and Toy Story II; on the other he’s known as a cult musical satirist; a writer of albums known for their scathing, biting wit and anti-establishment stance. Harps & Angels is his first such outing since 1999’s Bad Love. It covers much of the same musical ground as most of his solo work-Dixieland swing, waltzing blues, Tom Waits-esque piano ballads and the occasional showtune-and though he’s now in his mid-60s, Newman appears to be as lyrically acerbic as he ever was. This time he trains his guns on post 9/11 America, poking fun at life in ‘the richest country in the world’ on “A Piece of the Pie,” and paying the Bush administration some backhanded compliments by comparing them (favourably) to Stalin, Hitler, Caesar and the Spanish Inquisition on the lilting country tune “A Few Words in Defense of Our Country”. The carnivalesque “Laugh and Be Happy” and the oriental pop of “Korean Parents” see Newman on quirky, upbeat form, while ballads such as “Losing You,” and “Feels Like Home” (a new version of an old classic) reveal a more sentimental side. Harps & Angels may not be as barbed and visceral as older material, but it has enough venom and humour to create some first class musical entertainment. -Danny McKenna.

Apart from the non-release of Smile, the biggest lament of hardcore Beach Boys fans is that Bruce Johnston aside, none of the non-Brian Wilson solo albums are available on CD. But now, for fans of late drummer Dennis Wilson, there's reason to celebrate as his only-released solo album gets the reissue it deserves. Widely acknowledged as the finest Beach Boys solo effort, it's now presented with clarity, allowing the full sonic palette-the punch of opening "River Song" for example-to be heard in its intended glory. Wilson's raspy vocal may have been past its prime, but it's still affecting and ably supported by the sumptuous production values he gave the album. With high quality tracks such as the funky "Dreamer" and the poignant "Farewell My Friend", this will appeal to anyone with even a passing interest in The Beach Boys, as well as a delight for hardcore fans as the unreleased tracks (from the unfinished follow-up Bambu), easily match the original's quality. While the disappointing absence of earlier singles ("Lady" or "Sound of Free") prevents this from being a definitive career anthology, this is as essential a Beach Boys artefact as Pet Sounds or Sunflower/Surf's Up. -Thom Allott.

For many listeners, Little Voice will be their first exposure to this soulful singer/songwriter, but it's actually Sara Bareilles' second record. Her first, the self-released Careful Confessions, led to a deal with Epic. Since then, Bareilles has opened for Marc Broussard and Maroon 5. She's also become a bonafide soundtrack queen with tracks featured in female-centric films Girl Play, Loving Annabelle, and Monster-in-Law. As with her out-of-print debut, the UCLA grad wrote every song on her first major label recording (Little Voice features re-worked versions of several demo numbers). Like the portrait on the back of the CD-Bareilles in strappy black dress and lace-free high-tops-the piano-playing chanteuse combines the sweet with the scruffy. While her jazzy pop melodies are radio-ready, her relationship-oriented lyrics can be unexpectedly salty ("Bottle Up" and "Come Round Soon" wouldn't pass FCC muster). A little profanity here and there, however, doesn't indicate tough-girl attitude-Amy Winehouse can rest easy-so much as a desire to express herself freely. As Bareilles explains in "Love Song", "I'm trying to let you hear me as I am. " (Not surprisingly, her degree is in communications). [+]

Is there anything which screams the 1970s most indelible pop cultural clichés-more than the Swedish pop phenomena Abba and their Definitive Collection? While many a pundit snootily dismissed them during their prime as some sort of prefabricated aberration, their worldwide popularity peaked somewhere just south of Beatlemania. Indeed, Abba's music was as finely tooled and crafted as anything to come from a Volvo or Ikea factory -if occasionally more economically potent. This double-disc, 37-track anthology comes neatly on the heels of Mama Mia, the smash, if unlikely, stage show based on the band's hits, and documents every single released by the band's Polar label in their home country was as well as key tracks released as singles elsewhere internationally. When you hear the term "Europop," this is the canon from whence the term sprang. With a continental sense of vocal neo-classicism, informed by just the right ethnic clichés (and oft wed to the era's insistent 4/4 disco beat) to make songs like "Mama Mia", "Fernando", "Chiquitita" and "Voulez-Vous" work on a global scale, the writing team of Bjorn Ulvaeus/Benny Anderson and their respective partners in music and life, Agnetha Faltskog and Frida Lyngstad, developed the seamless, wall-of-sound productions contained herein. Definitive Collection features a rare single remix of "Ring, Ring" and a 1979 promo-only extended mix of "Voulez-Vous" as bonus tracks, as well as a concise, illustrated history of the band and each track. -Jerry McCulley.

Having achieved the improbable by redeeming traditional soft rock as a chart-friendly genre, are the London quintet challenging their audience a touch too much by titling their second album Join with Us? After all, wasn't recasting the terminally unfashionable likes of Supertramp and other so-called 'guilty pleasures' already a rather big ask? But it transpires that Dan Gillespie Sells and band, probably the first and only successful band to have perfected their chops as après-ski Alpine entertainers, have eschewed the vulnerability of 2006's hugely successful Twelve Stops and Home. Instead Join with Us is an unashamedly loud record, confidently full of stadium fillers in the best British tradition of Queen and Electric Light Orchestra. The thumping disco-rock of opener "I Thought It Was Over" leads the way, but "Without You", wetter than a waterfall, and the hysterical title track with its long build to a fearsomely slick chorus are similarly singleworthy. Less predictable are the downright odd "Don't Make Me Sad"-imagine a dream team of Chas'n'Dave'n'Brian May-and the lush, rueful ballad "Conor" where a string section and ethereal Beatles-esque harmonies add depth. "The Greatest Show on Earth", rather reminiscent of Kate Bush's bleaker moments, fails to live up to its title, pretty much the lyrical intention. But it's only the jaunty hidden track "We Can Dance", presumably aspiring to McCartney at his most jovial but in fact nearer to Chris De Burgh, that misses completely. The Feeling's brash new style may lack some of their previous charm, but Join With Us is undeniably effective. -Steve Jelbert.

At this stage in a band's career a Mojo front cover would seem more likely than actually getting their old mojo back. And at 14 albums young, REM's longevity had been taken as a byword for pale compliance-in spite of a melodic obedience, last album Around the Sun lacked the emotional vigour of their key works and was presumed by many to be no more than a footnote in their decline. Here then is where they break all the rules. Accelerate is exceptionally loyal to its title and marks a hefty return to their Document-era heyday, when their Byrdsian post-punk was beefed up to suit the arenas they were then beginning to fill. There's even a new "end of the world" song to back up that assertion-the excitable Stooges/B52s love-in "I'm Gonna DJ" ("Death is pretty final/I'm collecting vinyl/I'm gonna DJ at the end of the world!"). Michael Stipe's voice splinters scattered emotional punctuation, Mike Mills is as ever REM's secret weapon, drilling out bass-lines like rapid CPR and achieving more with a single backing vocal than many lead singers manage over a whole album, while Peter Buck deals out memorable guitar twists a-go-go evoking amongst others The Who, The Small Faces and Neil Young. To summon a cliché, this really does sound like a band-and a band half their age at that-playing live in a room, packed full of all the fire and nuances needed to feel at home in a club or the stadiums they now more regularly inhabit. -James Berry.

Newton Faulkner has toured with Paulo Nutini and James Morrison. You hear this fact far more often than you have to-it might have made sense to expose his palatable acoustic tinkerings to those massive audiences, but that association leaves too simplistic an impression. He specialises in partially progressive, free-willed folk-pop that is on one hand too cosy and warm for mass consumption-there's only so much space around the beach campfire-but on the other it's so accessible, so infectious, so feel-good that how could it not be headed for every other car stereo in the country, windows rolled down (weather permitting). It's not cutting edge by any stretch of the imagination; he constantly reminds of the acoustic balladry of 90s soft-metal bands Extreme and Mr Big (or at least the songs "More than Words" and "To Be with You") via modern day peers like Ben Harper, but Newton Faulkner comes with a fertile imagination and an enjoyably flexible range to dress that foundation up. His gravelly cover of Massive Attack's "Teardrop" is notable and Jack Johnson's a good reference for the percussive plucking of tunes like "Gone in the Morning", "To the Light" and "Feels Like Home". There are very few 17-track albums that couldn't be improved by losing six tracks, but the consistency on Hand Built by Robots is admirable and hints at a long term talent. -James Berry.

Even those allergic to musicals may be won over by Once, a tender-hearted Irish romance with songs by Czech Republic-born Markéta Irglová and Frames frontman Glen Hansard (the film's director, John Carney, actually used to play bass in the group). The trick here is that Irglová and Hansard also play the leads; because their characters are shown busking, writing music, or rehearsing, the songs are smoothly integrated in the film. The overall acoustic mood won't surprise fans of the Frames-some tracks ("Say It to Me", "When Your Mind's Made Up") have even popped up on the band's albums, though the arrangements are more pared-down here, befitting the scruffy, street-musician setting. Being the lesser-known entity, Irglová feels like a revelation; she sounds a bit like a folkie Björk on "If You Want Me," and her song "The Hill" is downright heartbreaking. Irglová and Hansard had already made the 2006 album The Swell Season together, so their collaboration here feels really organic-they sound particularly good together on the title track, for instance. Now that's the kind of magic you want from musicals. -Elisabeth Vincentelli.

Seventh Tree unveils an Alison Goldfrapp quite different to the one we saw on her career highpoint to date, 2005's Supernature. Whereas that album was grandiose, glammy, and almost aggressive in its brash, thrusting sexuality, Goldfrapp's fourth album is no less sensual, but rather more subtle in its approach. Recorded with longtime collaborator Will Gregory out in rural Somerset, Seventh Tree feels like an attempt to fuse the pagan folk of cult English horror classic The Wicker Man to a lush backdrop of woozy electronics and a restrained orchestral sweep reminiscent of '70s-era Serge Gainsbourg. In practise, this means much of Seventh Tree goes where earlier Gainsbourg disciples such as Air have gone before: chilled-out, soporific electronica with a light organic edge. Luckily, Goldfrapp remains a compelling enough figure to keep matters on the right side of ethereal: the gorgeous "Clowns" imagines the Cocteau Twins' Liz Fraser guesting on some long-forgotten Nick Drake out-take, rustic folk with an all-but-indecipherable vocal and an undercurrent of desolation, while "A&E" shows Goldfrapp's pop urge has not deserted her, uplifting electronica with a warm, bucolic twist. -Louis Pattison.

Calling it a day in early 1999 was probably the best thing the Verve ever did, as it meant that they quit when they were at the pinnacle of their success, sparing their faithful followers an unsightly degeneration. Urban Hymns is a fitting final testament to Wigan's favourite sons, as Richard Ashcroft and Nick McCabe temporarily buried the hatchet and reformed one of Britain's greatest songwriting partnerships since Lennon and McCartney. From the unmistakable introductory chords of "Bittersweet Symphony" to the sheer pop perfection of "Lucky Man" via stoner rock-outs like "Weeping Willow" and the call to arms that is "Come On", every track justifies its presence by being part of a cohesive whole. Their previous album A Northern Soul was already marked down in the annals of rock history as a classic; Urban Hymns surpasses it and then some. -Helen Marquis.

The Killers might hail from one of the USA's most quintessentially American cities (Las Vegas), but their debut album Hot Fuss displays an Anglophilic streak that is an ocean wide. Steeped in the back-catalogue of the Smiths and Pulp, with broad 80s synth sweeps cloaking each tale of fraught metrosexual romance, this band clearly rate the swoon over the swagger. Still, this is almost entirely an upbeat record, one made for the packed club than the smoky VIP room; in particular "On Top", "Somebody Told Me" and "Mr Brightside" are tremendous examples of breathless indie-pop that gallop along like a lovestuck heartbeat with frontman Brandon Flowers gasping for breath on the claustrophobic disco floor. This is, inarguably, what the Killers do best. Even when they deviate from form they've got a few neat ideas-see the gospel choir that echoes back Flowers' repeated exclamation "I've got soul/ But I'm not a soldier" on "All These Things I've Done", or the self-consciously epic "Indie Rock'n'Roll", delivered by the Killers with all the fireworks and gusto of a curtain-closing Broadway showtune. -Louis Pattison.

If, like most of the pop-listening public, you heard Timbaland's chart-topping remix of OneRepublic's single "Apologize" before you heard the original, you may be mildly confused about what kind of music the band makes. Timabaland's signature electronic swizzles and "eh-eh-eh"s leave the impression that OneRepublic is a style-heavy outfit a la Maroon 5, but frontman Ryan Tedder's plaintive words and woebegone themes don't fall far from forerunners Keane, Coldplay, and the Fray. Dreaming out Loud chisels away at the dichotomy. "Apologize", stripped of its swizzles, is a gorgeous modern rock song made all the more gorgeous by the urgency in Tedder's striking, unscuffed voice, and a lot of the songs on this record stack up similarly. Which is to say that, although tracks like "Tyrant" and opener "Say (All I Need)" wrap themselves around some seriously stylish production, substance is really this band's thing. A piano played by turns ferociously and tenderly drives the point home, and so do some choice lyrics; if you are inclined to choke up at feelings laid bare, check out "Goodbye, Apathy" and "Come Home" at your own risk. -Tammy La Gorce.

It's very likely that even if you haven't heard the contents of Radiohead's seventh album, you'll be aware of its existence. Released as a digital download by the band themselves before a CD release was even considered, In Rainbows was lauded for innovation before a note of music was heard. Luckily, the music matches the hype-it takes the best part of Radiohead's previous works and advances the formula even further. While the opener "15 Step"-all skittering drum patterns and dub-style bass-may hark back to the electronica of Kid A, the sound soon gives way to a more guitar-based sound. Whilst not as musically heavy as previous albums, the tunes are far more focused and passionate-"Bodysnatchers" is based around a hypnotic, distorted bass riff, while the beautiful string-drenched "Nude" is a true Radiohead classic. Lyrically, like Thom Yorke's solo album The Eraser, the lyrics are sketches of suburban paranoia, and the eerie sense of things no! t being quite right. This is especially true on the piano-based closer "Videotape", which poignantly details a man watching his life's achievements in his final moments. In short, In Rainbows is another masterpiece from the Oxford quintet. -Thomas Allott.

Remarkably Home Before Dark is the first US chart topping album of Neil Diamond's forty year career. It appears to repeat the formula behind 2006's acclaimed 12 Songs-relatively understated arrangements and a subtle Rick Rubin production. But Diamond, though sixty-seven years old and the oldest recipient of a Number One so far, is no Johnny Cash, turning his unique voice to some well chosen contemporary material. Instead Home Before Dark is a collection of new Diamond songs, and though they might not match the boomers in his back catalogue they are hardly stripped back. These are songs designed to fill large venues alongside the showstoppers in Diamond's still energetic live show. "Pretty Amazing Grace" is in the great tradition of Diamond songs that defy their corniness with sheer catchiness, as is "One More Bite of the Apple" while "Don't Go There" features bracing backing vocals and a delightfully dated wobbly guitar hook. The duet with Natalie Maines, "Another Day (That Time Forgot)", would fit comfortably on American country radio while "The Power of Two" sounds like another hit in waiting. In fact this is more a conventional Diamond collection than a Rick Rubin production, dominated by lightly understated country rock arrangements played by a crack team including Smokey Hormel, Heartbreakers Benmont Tench and Mike Campbell and the usually experimental Matt Sweeney. This is a charming and consistently solid set, though Home Before Dark does lack the unexpected intensity that made 12 Songs stand out so. -—Steve Jelbert.