Fun Lovin' Criminals - Korean Bodega (Chrysalis)
The most notably funky band on the planet follow up the soulful "Barry White saved my life" days with Beach Boys riffs and upbeat melodies. 'Korean Bodega' is slightly akin to Terrorvision's 'Tequila', only without the cheesy pretensions and annoying overdose of voices. Make up your own mind about the rest.

Luna - Superfreaky Memories (Beggars Banquet)
A ho-hum affair but catchy and enjoyable nonetheless. Think Pavement or Sebadoh without the classic tunes or maybe a humourless and dry Weezer. It does get a little boring but the droll cover of Kraftwerk's 'Neon Lights' somehow makes it all worthwhile.

Gus Gus - Starlovers (4AD)
Icelandic electro genius mashed into a digestible feast of pop rhythm, dancefloor beats and gospel glory. Gus Gus called their second album "This Is Normal" but 'Starlovers', in all its sordid eclecticism is so very far from normal. You just can't help falling for the dreamy charm that transforms an average enough tune into a piece of maddening and uplifting beauty.

Basement Jaxx - Red Alert (XL)
I'd expected this to be better. Booming basslines and distorted electro-fiddling combine in a rather poorly way with typically garage vocals. The end product is nothing special at all: noisy tunelessness that, realistically, won't open any eyes.

Hollis P Monroe - I'm Lonely (Citybeat)
For sampling Terence Trent D'Arby alone, this tune deserves praise. Funky basslines, hammering breakbeats and soulful vocals merge so naturally that 'I'm Lonely' is destined for repeat airplay and dancefloor action. And that trance remix still has my senses reeling.

Liquid Hi-Fi - Liquid Hi-Fi EP (Liquid)
Sound-engineers Conor Curran and Sinead Buckley have a way with music. Broadly speaking this is a dance CD. In reality, it zooms through every facet of sound and makes it all feel great. There's plenty of shattering breakbeats and rumbling bass. There's gritty guitars and magic vocals. This, my dears, is the battering ram at the forefront of Irish dance music.

Natacha Atlas & David Arnold - One Brief Moment (Mantra)
A number of years ago Bjork collaborated with David Arnold to create the endearing 'Play Dead'. Natacha Atlas must want to emulate the experience. 'One Brief Moment' is laden with strings and over the top crooning and, although it's actually not bad, it's a little too much heard-it-all-before.

Suede - Electricity (Nude)
A welcome return. In case you haven't heard Britpop is dead, and even Suede have changed their output. This is all muddled guitars and raw energy and Brett Anderson's still as eloquently listenable as usual.

Chicks - Little Monkeys With Lots Of Money EP (Supremo)
It's easy to succeed on image alone these days and with all that posing and pink-wearing you'd think Chicks are going down that road. But the lead track here, 'Daria' is evidence of an emerging riot-grrrl-type talent with the kind of pop-punk hooks that scream stardom at every turn. It's hard to believe this is the work of three schoolgirls.

Llama Farmers - Get The Keys And Go (Beggars Banquet)
Punk-pop power chords never seemed as damn appealing as this. Take all the good bits out of the last 10 years of rock and you're some way towards Llama Farmers' sound. And that madly-loveable solo bit that follows the chorus is nothing short of undiluted genius.