All Saints' second album, Saints and Sinners finds them on the run from the melancholic soul-pop of their eponymous debut. Defiantly more direct and sophisticated than its predecessor, this is a resolutely upbeat affair. Fortunately rather than re-invent themselves as men-bashing R&B divas, they have chosen to stick to their usual formula: song-writer, Shaznay Lewis's helium-high voice takes centre stage, Melanie Blatt and the Appleton sisters provide fluffy and light harmonies and a string of producers including William Orbit (Madonna) deliver euphoric, technicolour grooves. The UK version includes two rather pleasant bonus tracks, "I Don't Wanna Be Alone" and "One More Tequila", but the best material appears on the first half of the album. There's nothing quite as sublime as the undeniably feel-good opener, "Pure Shores" (also featured on The Beach soundtrack), but "Distance" a bewitching combination of flamenco guitar, piano and dance-floor friendly beats comes close. Saints and Sinners doesn't exert its power in subtle ways and there are occasions when they don't quite pull off their attempts to be quirky ("Whoopin' Over You"). However there is plenty of weight and breath here, a mood and groove for every occasion, just as long as that occasion is life-affirming. In fact, Saints and Sinners sounds like someone turned the "dark" off!-Maxine Kabuubi.

Carey's first post-divorce effort makes passing allusions to her ex-hubby (and label honcho) Tommy Mottola, but it doesn't dwell on them the way many similar projects do. Instead, Carey is right back to her old tricks; cooing trademark melismatic spirals through sexy, beat-heavy hits. Fans will dig the bedroom slink of "Baby Doll", the dripping "Honey" and the infectious title track (reprised, along with a bit of Elton John's "Skyline Pigeon", in "Fly Away"). The highlight is a duet with Dru Hill on Prince's "The Beautiful Ones", which just might be her most pointed commentary on Mottola. -Michael Ruby.

Defiant, sexy, playful, nervy, womanly, and wise, 1988's Raw Like Sushi was the opening salvo in Neneh Cherry's brilliant, if woefully underappreciated, career. The hit "Buffalo Stance," with its reworking of Malcolm McLaren's Buffalo Gals vibe, found Cherry erroneously labeled as a rap artist. True enough, there are hip-hop elements on Raw Like Sushi, as well as pop, electronic, R&B, and dance, all gleefully mixed up in a progressive melange of beats, cultures, emotions, and grooves. Besides being fierce, funky, and one of the best debuts in memory, Raw Like Sushi helped redefine what women could do in the rigid realm of late-'80s African American music, and it sounds as good today as it did the day it was released. -Amy Linden.

Eternal are back, this time as a duo, having lost long-serving member Kelly Bryan. The remaining two, Esther and Vernie Bennet, began their careers singing in a Croydon Baptist church; on their latest album, their voices are gloriously tinged with gospel influences. The former 1993 teen phenomena are no longer peddling the pop/dance songs written by their own personal hit factory: on Eternal, they have had a hand in producing a number of the tracks. The UK's most successful all-female pop group since Bananarama have written material that draws comparisons to artists such as TLC and Destiny's Child-first single "What'cha Gonna Do" gives TLC's hit "No Scrubs" a definite run for its money. They've also adopted a bit of a Latin vibe, hooking up with producers Stevie J-whose credits including Puff Daddy and Mariah Carey-and Emilio Estefan (husband of Gloria). -Shanti Sivanesan.