SINGLES

LES NEGRESSES VERTES: Leila (Virgin) -- Cast out all thoughts of Clapton's similarly-titled rock epic. This is a jazzy piece of African-influenced French funk. Infectious and relaxed, this is a chilled-out good-time tune. (7/10) PB

SCOOCH: The Best Is Yet To Come (EMI) -- This awful piece of throwback pop harks back to the terrible early '80s excesses of Bucks Fizz and Abba, with Scooch's songcraft and pathetic lyrics falling far short of their Eurocheese ancestors (2/10) PB

AFRO-CELT SOUND SYSTEM: Release (Real World Records) -- The folk-techno misfits team up with Sinead O'Connor to produce a superbly atmospheric mixture of African desert rock, Celtic folk and mad electric guitar. Their mixture of musical cultures has sometimes been too clinical but this is a winning combination. (9/10) PB

ALBUMS

GOMEZ: Machismo EP (Hut) -- This mini-album of all-new material shows the great versatility of the Southport rockers. Opening song Machismo is a funky cocktail of sampled vocals, crisp country acoustic guitar and swamp funk basslines which flows into a dreamy Stone Roses-like melody. Second track Do's And Don'ts is a little too dark and low-key, while the third is a gentle mixture of strings and strumming with the trademark strained vocals which make Gomez unique. Waster, the penultimate tune, is a fun tune with the lively retro-funk feel favoured by East Lancashire bands like Tidy, but the final track The Dajon Song is more sombre and gets a little weary towards the end. The mixture of moods is matched by varying song quality but there are some sparkling moments. (8/10) PB STATUS QUO: Famous In The Last Century (Universal) -- Will the Quo ever stop rocking? Not until they find it physically impossible, one suspects. This album's theme is built round the cringeworthy, half-hearted title tune, which tells today's kids what they were missing at the turn of the 1960s. What follow are some energetic versions of hits from Chuck Berry, Elvis and lesser-known rock 'n' rollers, capturing the simple rock of the early years. It's a rose-tinted affair which reeks of soppy nostalgia. They also make a bad job of riffing up Sweet Home Chicago by blues pioneer Robert Johnson. But do they care? As the second track states: "Call me a relic, call me what you will, say I'm old-fashioned, say I'm over the hill, today's music ain't got the same soul, I like that old time rock'n'roll." (6/10) PB