MUSE: Plug in Baby (Mushroom) --The first single new of the year for Muse isn't as full-on as their debut album. But with plenty of the usual Bellamy vocal surfing, the hardest-working trio in pop have have lost none of their intensity. (8/10) CL

I AM KLOOT: Dark Star, (We Love You) -- The more you hear I Am Kloot, the more convincing they sound. With a lazy Northern swing, they are the pick of the current Manchester acoustic scene. And, backed by two breathtaking early really releases, Dark Star beats off some quality competition to be indie single of the week. Well worth seeking out. (9/10) CL

KING ADORA: Suffocate (Superior) -- A classic follow-up to their sexy last single Smoulder, this effort shows the four glamorous Brummies in a whole new light. Building from a gentle acoustic opening, then developing into a catchy rock chorus, King Adora are slowing becoming the band we always knew they could be.(8/10) CC

WESTLIFE: Uptown Girl (RCA) -- A cheesy cover of what is, in essence, a cheesy song anyway. But, bearing in mind this is for charity, I think we can be sympathetic towards it. At least it isn't another crooning ballad. (7/10) DH

ALBUMS:

MY VITRIOL: Finelines (Infectious) -- Lead singer Som Wardner has already criticised this, his band's debut album, for being too polished. But his grossly over-critical appraisal is, in reality, the reaction of an artist so close to the project, he can't see the wood for the trees. Finelines is 16 grunge-influenced songs, awash with glorious guitar sounds and punctuated by spiky, anxious lyrics. (8/10) CL

HARD ENERGY: Various (MoS) -- Not one for the faint-hearted, this album is just jam-packed full of pumping, twisted hard house and tough trance tunes mixed by Fergie and Yomanda, two of the scene's biggest DJs. Blending the sounds of trance and house, and prepared to break the mould by including new tracks, this has the Ministry stamp all over it. (8/10) DH

REAL GARAGE: Various (MoS) -- Most compilations come with at least a few big names in a bid to catch the middle-of-the-road fan. Not this one. It is dedicated to only the most intense garage fans, blending the dark sounds, sexy grooves, killer vocals and break beats which make the London Garage scene into a definitive album for 2001. (8/10) DH