Dem 2 - Destiny (Locked On / XL).
If cutting-edge garage is your thing then (pardon the cliché) you're on a winner here. Dem 2 take garage away from Saturday night dancing around the handbag and drag it back underground to a world where anything goes. With some work 'Destiny' could become an anthem. A perfect blend of toned-down soul and eccentric industrial electronica.

Doolally - Straight From The Heart (Locked On / XL).
Another in the Locked On series of hopeful garage anthems and another thumping bundle of joy to boot. 'Straight From The Heart' is slightly more catchy than Dem 2's offering and with the trumpet riff and droll vocals are a match made in garage heaven, a little mainstream chart action doesn't seem out of the question.

Johnny L. featuring Silvah Bullet - 20 Degrees (XL).
When it comes to drum-and-bass it's usually simple nuances that separate one artist from another. Johnny L. likes being different. Not painfully out-there different but different in a way that makes your eyes open. On '20 Degrees' Johnny's tough-beat drums are coupled with Silvah Bullet's hard-hitting rap, making a thoroughly dark, moody tune. The format is impressive and the end result is mesmerising. A fine, fine tune.

Various Artists - The Law & Auder Assembly (Law & Auder).
Force Of Angels' opener 'Linga' is ambient drum-and-bass to rival all the big names while Gay Biker's 'Four' is broody, down-tempo and exhiliratingly funky. The four remaining tracks are lessons in dub and electronica that we all should learn. With the millennium fast approaching, with rock past its sell-by date and with chart music at an all-time low, maybe this is what the future has in store.

Bis - Eurodisco (Wiiija).
Musically this is disco at its peak but modern, not retro. Lyrically the song rips several streaks of piss out of the whole '80s mindset. "The party's at its end / A style is named and it's dead / There is no latest trend / I eat just what I'm fed." The irony is superb and, despite the music's less than humble origins, the song is a splendidly catchy party-piece to rival the disco of old as well as the pop music of the present.

Velocette - Reborn (Wiiija).
A slow, acoustic number with an arsenal of wind instruments to add to the tedium, 'Reborn' is truly a lesson in how not to win over new fans. The contrived-intellectual religious undertones of Sam Pluck's lyrics aren't repulsive but off-putting is too weak a description. The b-sides are livelier and endearing. Distort the guitars and add a melody and Velocette are a more potent force than 'Reborn' gives them credit for.

Alanis Morisette - Thank U (Reprise).
With Alanis Morisette there's a charming melody and an obvious talent trying desperately to emerge but it's covered in layers and layers of over-production and gratuitous niceness and, to be painfully honest, sounds like a flagrant attempt at fan-grabbing and pandering-to-the-mass-market. To add insult to injury, those repulsively pretentious lyrics sail to the fore atop waves of ugly metaphor and sarcasm. File under 'dodgy'.

U2 - Sweetest Thing (Island).
What's really loveable in 'Sweetest Thing' is the way the music comes together with the simple lyrics. The overdone flair that has plagued U2 since 'Achting Baby' is entirely not in evidence here. Sublime melodies on guitar and piano take over, and the song's attraction definitely lies in such a simple and addictive melody. Okay, it's an old song, but it's so much better than the new.

Jack - Steamin' (Too Pure).
A veritable rush of a song, no doubt about it. 'Steamin'' chugs and drives, pulsating relentlessly in a manner not dissimilar to the most powerful Suede or Gene and masters the beauty of the melodic rock song. The beauty and fragility, the very intimacy of 'Yuka's Life' and 'You Will Forget Me' are a fitting antidote to 'Steamin''; a flipside comedown. Or something.

Heather Nova - Heart And Shoulder (V2).
Heather Nova's ability to write a touching song and to tell an uninhibited story is a talent much sought after. The sheer bareness of her soul and the simplistic singing that reveals a beauty not seen so often nowadays is probably what makes this song such a gem. And despite a heard-it-all-before feel, 'Heart And Shoulder' is a rich, heart-warming jewel that deserves nothing short of adoration.

by Michael Gleeson.