A LOOK at the latest single and album releases.

Album

PETER GABRIEL: Long Walk Home (Virgin)

THIS album is the soundtrack to the film The Rabbit Proof Fence and if the film is as turgid and full of as much over-the-top emotion as the album, the name is all I want to know about it. Containing almost an hour of pseudo world/incidental music, I see no reason why anyone would want to listen to it. Half way through I'm sure if you listen closely you can hear the sound of the engineer snoring. Peter Gabriel seems to have made a career from writing songs of no merit with very little talent and obviously he sees no reason to end a winning formula.

Singles

ABRAHAM: Magpie (JBO/V2)

LAID-BACK, melodic female vocals produce easy listening of a very high calibre. This goes down a track well trodden recently by the likes of Beth Orton and Kathryn Williams. This isn't the most original of songs but it is thoroughly enjoyable. Something nice and inoffensive for this summer's garden parties. MA

MINUTEMAN: Big Boy (Ignition)

MINUTEMAN certainly have the big guns on their side. They are due to tour with both Soundtrack Of our Lives and Mercury Rev, as well as having a slot at Glastonbury. This single shows exactly why they have got such support on their side. A dirty blues-driven riff hurtles you towards this extremely melodic singalong of a song. With two decent B-sides, this is a promising start. MA