TRAVIS: Side (Independiente) --The best tune from their safe third album is surprisingly, almost shockingly, an uplifting effort. Yet just when when Fran Healey looks like getting things right, one B-side track sees bassist Dougie tragically ruining the Bowie-penned Mott The Hoople classic All The Young Dudes. Sad but true. (7/10) CL

STARSAILOR: Alcoholic (Chrysallis) -- Emotion is something James Walsh places high on his list of ingredients for a song and this track has it in abundance. While by no means the best track on their album, the hype will see it do well, not to mention its memorable lyric: "Don't you know you've got your daddy's eyes/ Your daddy was an alcoholic." (7/10) DH

LIBERTY: Thinking It Over (V2) -- Not what you would expect from the so-called Flopstars. With an R'n'B/garage sound, the track has managed to win over pop fans and those usually only keen on the dedicated genre sound. Backed with an incredible amount of exposure, this song will easily go Top 10. (7/10) DH

GARBAGE: Androgyny (Mushroom) --The first taste of their their third album is a powerful pop hybrid featuring aggressive guitars with a provocative lyric. This is a gentle nudge to prepare fans for the album's new direction, which moves away from their sounds of the past. (8/10) CL Albums JAMIROQUAI: A Funk Odyssey (Sony) -- Putting aside all the band's work from the early acid jazz days of the Space Cowboy, Jay Kay's castle is now firmly built on solid disco funk. Unashamedly retro in feel, this album contains 10 tracks of dancefloor winners. From the obvious groove-riddled classic of You Give Me Something to the dreamy romantic Corner Of The Earth, which has a laid-back French Riviera feel, the album is undoubtedly a winner. Forget about the silly hats -- this has real style. (9/10) CL

TORI AMOS: Strange Little Girls (East West/Atlantic Records) -- Here American singer songwriter Tori Amos has covered a bizarre collection of works spanning four decades. Written by successful male artists as diverse as Eminem, Lou Reed and Neil Young, each track has been dissected and performed from the perspective of a host of different female characters in the lyrics. The bold addition strings to Eminem's '97 Bonnie and Clyde provides a haunting atmosphere for the chilling tale. A magical version of Depeche Mode's Enjoy The Silence sees the electronic instrumentation stripped completely away to leave a stark bare piano line. At times the darkness of the theme is a little overbearing but Amos' uncompromising new insight into each track is undoubtedly a welcome touch of class. (9/10) CL