Enigma, the Romanian musician, Michael Cretu and friends will never win any prizes for invention. The music of his fourth album adheres firmly to the blueprint of his other releases-mini-pop symphonies. This is a small-screen scrawl that takes in classical music samples in the style of Gregorian chants and Wagner-style pomp and circumstance, and MOR vocals, which recall Celine Dion and Phil Collins, provided by Ruth Ann Boyle of Olive, Cretu's wife, Sandra and Andru Donalds. Bedded down to ambient's lack of beats and coloured by pop's sense of fun, there are no obvious hits on the very smooth and moody, The Screen Behind the Mirror. However there is a certain guilty pleasure in kicking back after dinner and floating down stream to the almost funky "Push out the limits" and the bombastic slab of Euro-pop that is "Traces(Light and Weight". -Olivia Ferenczi.

Far more fun than the eighties actually were at the time, the second album from Melbourne's Cut Copy, In Ghost Colours, is one of the slickest and most varied reinterpretations of the era to appear in the last five years. Selective nostalgia means that every sound from the past is open to reappraisal and Cut Copy have moved on from the sometimes slavish devotion to New Order that dominated their first album, 2004's enjoyably familiar Bright Like Neon Love. By comparison In Ghost Colours is nearer to the dense pop of Electronic, Johnny Marr and Bernard Sumner's often overlooked collaboration, especially the brash, acoustic guitar driven opener "Feel The Love" and the brash "Lights and Music". But on tunes like the lush "Hearts On Fire" and the more abrasive "So Haunted", Dan Whitford and crew also nod to the experimental pop of the Cure and Depeche Mode and the now familiar sonic attack that My Bloody Valentine originated (and Snow Patrol eventually turned into pop). Less obviously, late period ELO, increasingly adored by studio head, prove to be an influence. The producer here is none other than DFA's Tim Goldsworthy, and though Cut Copy are far from the bittersweet hedonism of his other recent clients Hercules And Love Affair, In Ghost Colours works both as contemporary dance-rock and, edited without gaps, as a complete album. -Steve Jelbert.

Although there have been countless compilations over the decades, The Very Best of the Jacksons could well be the most definitive. Split across two discs, disc one primarily features the early Mowtown days and the second, mainly their hits as the Jacksons (as opposed to Jackson 5) released on Epic. Often overshadowed by Michael's subsequent success as a solo artist, this anthology demonstrates why the Jacksons' perfect balance of pop and soul has endured when compared to one-time peers such as the Osmonds. The irresistible funk of "ABC" and "I Want You Back" are classics of the period as are the incredible ballads "Got to Be There" and little Michael's ode to a loveable rodent, "Ben". Highlights of disc two are predominantly from their massive albums Destiny and Triumph, released in the late 1970s, early 1980s; "Can You Feel it", "Blame it on the Boogie" and "Shake Your Body" to name but three. It was around this time that Michael began his adult solo career and The Very Best of the Jacksons appropriately ends with a live version of "Don't Stop Till You Get Enough" from MJ's Off the Wall. Michael may have gone on to eclipse his family but there can be little dispute that the Jacksons are one of the most important musical dynasties ever. -Georgina Collins.

Fighting off their various demons-in the case of singer Dave Gahan, a heroin addiction which saw him clinically dead on at least one occasion-the band reformed for its 11th studio album. But where Songs of Faith And Devotion had indulged their penchant for stadium rock theatrics (with disastrous results, so far as Gahan was concerned), Ultra saw a return to the layered electronics of Violator-albeit with a noticeably tougher edge. By engaging Bomb The Bass's Tim Simenon as producer, their sound underwent a subtle metamorphosis: the beats harder, the arrangements more complex and contemporary. The result was their most satisfying collection to date. And though Martin Gore's own vocal, on "Home", constitutes one of this album's standouts, what's really remarkable is Gahan's treatment of Gore's songs, in light of his own chequered history: to hear him sing "Useless" ("you've got your head in the clouds/ you should see how it feels/ with your feet on the ground") is like nothing so much as watching a public declaration of guilt. Discomfiting, but also compelling. -Andrew McGuire.

The resurgence of rock in most aspects of popular music has certainly not gone un-noticed by Lemon Jelly's Fred Deakin and Nick Franglen as 64-95 is littered with epic guitars and explosive refrains nestling amongst the downbeat soul for which they are best known. Opener, "Come Down on Me", is tense, fiery and for the most part dominated by the partnership of crashing power-chords and a lead synth that, while not a big-beat tune, wouldn't sound out of place on an old Lo-fi's or Chemical Brothers album. However, for anyone missing the sugary sweetness of Lost Horizons, most of the album is business as usual—strict drum patterns and rolling, mesmeric loops of lush strings, acoustic guitars (that sound great if a little bit cheesy) and lovable bass hooks. "Make Things Right" sums up a great deal of the music with its summery melody and reserved mid-tempo groove, this track being particularly reminiscent of classic Nightmares on Wax. Among the deviations in formula are "The Shouty Song", which comes across as some sort of harsh, contemporary jig and "The Slow Train", which utilises a barber shop quartet to fantastic effect. From start to finish 64-95 is pretty much devoid of filler (the weaker tracks only being weak due to other songs being better) and it culminates in the wondrous epic "Go", with the beat poet talents of William Shatner building to a crescendo that'll send anyone home with a smile on their face. Another great collection that isn't too radical a departure but doesn't rest on past successes, pushing Lemon Jelly forward at their own pace. -David Trueman.