Alice Russell has worked hard to become one of Britain's finest soul voices. Recording with a number of artists (everyone from The Quantic Soul Orchestra and Max Sedgley to Nostalgia 77 and Bah Samba), she has recently been focusing on her solo career. My Favourite Letters is her second solo album, and is produced by label-mate TM Jukes, who has concocted a relevantly retro soundscape of modern soul and electronica, drawing on genres such as gospel, hip hop, jazz, neo-soul, broken beat and funk. Russell's versatile voice soars and dips along with the soundtrack's peaks and troughs, drawing us in with intimate whispers one minute, and launching us onto the dancefloor with heavyweight Diva hooks the next. From the introspective "All Else Can Wait", the garage riddims of "What We Want" and the intriguing single "Humankind", this project highlights the formidable skills of not one, but two, very talented individuals. -Paul Sullivan.

This sophomore full-length, Apricot Morning solidifies Holland's reputation, building upon the chilled foundations of his 2001 debut The Fifth Exotic with a body of tracks that deftly slides the soul and funk of his acclaimed Quantic Soul Orchestra project into the slow-motion down-tempo vibe characteristic of his earlier work. The opening title track lays out the sonic stall, with plentiful strings expanding into loping percussion, the click of a woodblock eventually giving way to some classy guitar riffery. Throw in a liberal scattering of afro beat, plenty of cheeky brass lines (both sampled and courtesy of sax wielding sister Lucy) and the resultant blend makes for some great home listening. Add a further dimension courtesy of the vocals of EQ, Bristol based hip hoppers Aspects and the wonderful Alice Russell-who gives it up like Carleen Anderson on the slick "Search the Heavens"-and Apricot Morning proves itself the most accomplished and ambitious album to date for Tru Thoughts. -Kingsley Marshall.

The excellent double-CD compilation The Way of Curveis an appropriate and overdue tribute to a group who would still sound about a hundred years ahead of their time if they appeared now. The title is well chosen: Curve were one of those bands whose influence ballooned quickly out of proportion to their record sales. Curve's influences were always pretty obvious-My Bloody Valentine, Nine Inch Nails, The Cure, The Jesus and Mary Chain circa "Automatic"-but Curve's deft and dazzling synthesis of electronica, hip-hop and rock & roll would later echo in the works of U2 (particularly on Pop), Garbage and Marilyn Manson, among many others. For a duo whose CVs had previously amounted to an abortive solo career (in the case of Toni Halliday) and a stint as Eurythmics' bassplayer (Dean Garcia), Curve's career amounted to a sensational surprise. The first disc of this set contains 16 tracks spanning Curve's canon from 1990 until the present day, the second a selection of rarities and unreleased recordings. Particular highlights of the latter include Curve's faintly terrifying cover of Donna Summer's "I Feel Love", a duet with the late Ian Dury on Dury's own "What a Waste" and a Kevin Shields remix of "Coming Up Roses". -Andrew Mueller.

Kylie Minogue concludes her On a Night Like This tour with an unashamed pop extravaganza on home ground in Sydney, performing to a huge audience which these days consists of more adults than teenagers. Kylie has undoubtedly matured over the years, too, and-apart from a brief stint believing she could become a "serious" artist-appears perfectly happy in her role as the Princess of Pop. Kylie fulfils different roles for different groups within the audience: for females it's all about adulation-rediscovering her childlike appeal like a long-lost friend; the men are offered a fantasy figure-the camera drawn like a magnet to her derrière for 20 per cent of the concert; and she simultaneously manages to be a gay icon, without becoming overtly camp. The joy of Kylie is that she has become all things to all people, offered up in a perfectly petite package. It's clear that the years of work as a performer have paid off, her vocals are much stronger now with a real sense of professionalism, and just to prove this she performs two old favourites as serious pieces, "I Should Be So Lucky" is offered as a ballad and "Better the Devil You Know" is transported to Shirley Bassey territory, allowing Kylie to prove her vocal range. In true show-stopping style we're offered a multitude of costume changes: from hot-pant mania to refined suits and rock-chick leather, Kylie inevitably appears looking great; although the same cannot be said for her backing dancers, whose outfits are often laughable, with all the style of a school play costume. Despite the many faces of Kylie on display here, pop stardom does not appear to have changed her girl-next-door image-Kylie remains in our hearts a true "neighbour". On the DVD: This music disc is like Kylie, perfectly packaged in every way. The menu is beautifully laid out (even though the images offer an excess of cleavage) with a great range of easily accessible options. You can choose simply to play the concert straight in its pristine 16:9 anamorphic screen ratio or you can select your favourite songs from the track selection option; you can visit Kylie backstage or watch the great music video for "Spinning Around". [+]

Third albums are supposed to be notoriously difficult for most bands (just ask the Spice Girls, but Sunshine proves that S Club 7 don't seem to have this problem. The shiny perfect world that they inhabit seems to be showing no signs of losing its sparkle-who else could release an album called Sunshine in the heart of winter and get away with it? Few albums can boast three number one singles before they have even been released, but with two Children In Need singles "Never Had a Dream Come True" and "Have You Ever", as well as the perfect pop of "Don't Stop Movin" which managed to hit the top spot twice in the summer of 2001, it's hard to see how Sunshine can fail. Also included are a wealth of great pop tunes, with a healthy mix of storming pop anthems and harmonious ballads, many of them potential chart-toppers themselves. None are finer than the 1960s pop of "You", which comes across like "Reach" reworked by Phil Spector, and even more amazingly works. Give in to the power of S Club 7 and let their "Sunshine" brighten up your world. -Helen Marquis.

It's hard to imagine Aphex Twin having a more appropriately named label (Warp); fitting also that 26 Mixes for Cash should have such an honest title. Having passed off a random gabba track as a Lemonheads remix and not bothering to hear the Nine Inch Nails originals before handing over his mixes, Aphex Twin has historically proved a little wayward in his methods. Not so much remixing as recycling, Richard D James's method is not unlike flinging tracks into a garbage crusher just long enough so only the bare bones of melody and structure survive. Covering a decade's work, this stunning eclectic mix effortlessly flicks from cinematic ambience (Nine Inch Nails-"At the Heart of It All") and industrial pandemonium (Mescalinum United's "We Have Arrived") to squelching acid trance (his own previously unreleased Acid Edit of "Windowlicker"). The disparate range of artists remixed is as remarkable as the music, with Mike Flowers Pops and Wagon Christ making unlikely bedfellows. Improbable yet inspired highlights come in the form of his haunting interpretation of David Bowie's "Heroes" symphony conducted by Philip Glass and the breathtakingly ethereal transformation of Curve's "Falling Free". -Christopher Barrett.

The W flashes out once again across the tenements of Shaolin like a sigil of hip-hop vigilance. From the get-go, "Chamber Music" signals a return to the grimy depths of the Wu's 36 Chambers debut, riding on an attack formation of clattering hi-hats and the rapid firing of arpeggio strings. "Careful (Click Click)" is an East Coast corollary to Dr Dre's "Bang Bang": the sound of an empty clip firing; dungeon sounds, jangling percussion and a flute that pervades the atmosphere like cyanide. Throughout the record, familiar soul breaks burst forth as unexpected adjunct to producer-for-life RZA's dread sounds, shaking their bones like skeletons in the closet. On "I Can't Get No Sleep", the epic soul sound takes centre stage, as a perpetual rewind of Isaac Hayes majestic orchestration for "Walk On By" is used as a widescreen canvas for Ghostface and RZA to deliver impassioned war reports from the frontline. (Hayes himself lends his grounded baritone to counter RZA's hysterical lyrical syncopation. ) Revolving around a sampled blues vocal, "Hollow Bones" recalls Ghostface Killah's "Motherless Child", while "One Blood Under W" pits sliced-and-diced samples from Portishead's "All Mine" against a soaring Junior Reid vocal. "Conditioner" features an unrepentant ODB drawling abstract nonsense, his ruff, gruff tones perfectly complemented by Snoop Dogg's softly-softly cameo. If you just let it, the back and forth of "Gravel Pit"'s clipped Enter The Dragon loop will get intravenous on your ass and permanently infect the bloodstream. Closer "Jah World" is a psalm that sings the praises of the Wu Divine pitted against Pekinpah sound effects that comes off like Peter Tosh's "Creation". [+]

After their groundbreaking debut, brothers Paul and Phil Hartnoll quickly put trendy tags like "rave", "techno" and "hardcore" behind them. With Orbital 2, the brothers went to great lengths to show that some of their primary interests lay beyond the dance floor, as influences like Miles Davis and Steve Reich crept into the fragmented, floating arrangements. Atmospheric tracks such as "Lush 3-1" and its near relative "Lush 3-2" transcended established electronic formulas by breaking away from regular beat patterns, and they borrowed Opus III vocalist Kirsty to create the catchy, entrancing mesmerizer "Halcyon + On + On". Orbital had come a long way from their breakthrough single "Chime", and by all indications would never go back again. -Aidin Vaziri.

Daniel Bedingfield's long awaited second offering Second First Impressioncomes after a substantial period of rehabilitation, following on from a serious accident that nearly ended his career after the astounding success of debut Gotta Get Thru This. Second First Impressionimplies that it's going to clear up those fundamental questions that baffled everyone from his fans to jealous record company execs alike first time round - just who, or what is Daniel Bedingfield? "The voice of tomorrow", according to the man himself in opener "Growing Up", a start/stop stutterthon that sounds like it was recorded in his New Zealand outhouse whilst high on a vicious morphine binge. "Complicated" - only the second song in - even has a (surprising passable) muted reggae flavour. However, we're back on what you might call familiar territory with the painfully sharp lyrics and balladry of "Wrap My Words Around" and "Nothing Hurts like Love. " Never far from a costume change though-witness the astoundingly good "The Way", which siphons early U2 through Duran Duran. The only conclusion to draw is that Bedders is a complicated man and such confusion only comes from the very admirable trait of putting oneself into one's work. A treat. -Ben Johncock.