SINGLES

PACIFICA: Lost in the translation (Wildstar Records Ltd) - Yet another classic hit is pulled to pieces in a dance cover version. This Bontempi-style sample of the Blondie's Heart of Glass features a bizarre Scottish rant in the background. It reminds me of when Tin Tin Out went poncing round Paris with that Shelley Nelson for Here's Where The Story Ends. Simple and sunny enough, but Deborah Harry would be forced to shield her ears if she heard this remix. (6/10) IM

DIVINE COMEDY: The Pop Singer's Fear of The Pollen Count (Setenta) - A ribald look at the summer charts from tongue-in-cheek star Neil Hannon. The beauty of his work is that it allows him to get away with sounding like a cheesy Eurovision entry even when he's taking the Mickey out of the genre. You can't help feeling that the Irish brassy cabaret wonders aren't trying very hard any more. But there's a lot worse than these on the radio. (7/10) IM

ALBUMS

CAFE MAMBO: Ibiza 99 (Circa/Virgin) - Yet another Ibiza summer double dance album. But rather than being a collection of cheesy chart tunes loosely threaded together, this album mixes offbeat house tunes with remixes of ambient classics as well as including ever-present tunes like Armand Van Helden's Flowerz and Pete Heller's Big Love. The healthy mix of contributors includes The Orb, Massive Attack, Terry Callier, Roni Size, Future Sound Of London and Vangelis. Excellent soft percussion sounds ring through , giving it a light and summery feel. (8/10) PB VARIOUS ARTISTS: Theme From Austin Powers (Maverick) - The music from the summer's silliest film kicks off with Madonna's wonderful Beautiful Stranger. The quintessentially British feel of the film is marked by an excellent live version of The Who's My Generation. Which is more than can be said for former Spice Girls Melanie G's attempt at Cameo's Word Up, a song which was covered better by dodgy rock band Gun. REM, Green Day and a collaboration between Burt Bacharach and Elvis Costello are among the other highlights. (7/10) PB

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