SINGLES

MELANIE C: Going Down (Virgin) - The Spice Girl's ill-advised jaunt into indie rock territory is cringeworthy and uninspired in equal measure. Mel C's attempts to cast off her squeaky-clean image get dismally bogged down in a swamp of plodding, cliched rock. (4/10) PB

DEF LEPPARD: Goodbye (Bludgeon Riffola/Mercury) - The only thing worse than Def Leppard releasing a comeback single is the sad fact that a new album is to follow. This pathetically predictable soft rock ballad could have been penned by any depressed pub rocker after a few whisky and cokes. I suggest Def Leppard should be locked in a room with Mel C where both parties can have a rock duel till they lose their voices. (2/10) PB

ALBUMS

EVERYTHING BUT THE GIRL: Temperamental (Virgin) - Tracey Thorn's voice will forever be linked with the sounds of Massive Attack following their hugely successful collaboration with Protection. The new album from Thorn's previous group Everything But The Girl brings a lot of Massive Attack's moody dance ideas into the mix. The mixture of synthesised rhythms and tough but slow drums provides an ideal background for Thorn's beautiful voice on atmospheric tunes like Low Tide Of The Night. Tracks like Lullaby Of Clubland ride the fence between dancefloor and bedroom music. The lyrics occasionally delight, like when Tracey utters the line "you watch the phone like it was the TV" on No Difference. Successful and slowly building dance single The Future Of The Future could pave the way for this album's success. (8/10) PB

OCEAN COLOUR SCENE: One From The Modern (Island Records) - It doesn't seem 10 years since this lot looked like joining the ever-lengthening line of washed-up indie outfits. After their patchy self-titled debut album, they found themselves exiled to a musical wilderness as the industry turned its back on them. But they learned to swim against the tide, building on Fowler's solid songwriting as Steve Craddock perfected his guitar skills under the watchful eye of the Mod Father Paul Weller. A decade on, the lads fly the Mod flag with pride as they mark the anniversary with their fourth studio album. This offering is deep in quality tunes if perhaps a little short of possible hit singles. From the hot-wired guitar sounds of July to the acoustic tracks such as the funky Soul Driver, you wonder how anyone could ever have doubted them. The package unfolds with a more chilled out tempo with tracks like Step By Step and Waves. At the moment they can do no wrong. (9/10) CL

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.