ONE LADY OWNER: Police Car Sex (Creation) - Rossendale bassist Nathan Sudders adds to the fearsome rock wall of sound on his band's latest single. The driving rhythms verge on heavy metal, but the low vocals of Steve Dougherty and some weird keyboard sounds hint at the offbeat appeal which attracted Oasis's record company. It's hard to fathom where they get their ideas from but they can't be written off. (6/10) PB

ROONEY: Foreign People Speaking (Common Culture) - A look at mediocrity using a gloriously deadpan narrative. Rooney are obviously going to be the next kings of bedroom lo-fi. They could write a song about watching paint dry and make it sound interesting. (7/10) JS

BRASSY: Bonus Beats EP (Wiiija) - The latest Wiiija hopefuls are Manchester-based and feature American singer Muffin Spencer, sister of Jon Spencer, of Blues Explosion fame. It goes without saying that she is the dominant force behind this punky outfit. They like hip-hop and scratch records like there's no tomorrow. On the lead track, Good Times, they have stolen the riff from The Undertones' You Got My Number but I forgive them. (7/10) JS

ALBUMS

VARIOUS ARTISTS: 21st Century Rock (Virgin/EMI) - The makers of this double CD compilation have not only picked the best alternative rock artists, they have by and large picked their best songs too. The many artists here speak for themselves. So here goes: Suede, Manic Street Preachers, Blur, Catatonia, Terrorvision,The Divine Comedy, Robbie Williams, Gomez, Prodigy, Radiohead, Super Furry Animals, Fun Lovin' Criminals, Republica, Reef, Garbage. And there's a whole lot more. Indie fans who have not bought a record for a year or so can catch up here with one buy. (9/10) PB

THE SERPENTS: You Have Just Been Poisoned By . . . (Ochre) - An Anglo-Welsh collaboration featuring more than 30 recruits from bands including Super Furry Animals, Echo And The Bunnymen and Gorky's Zygotic Mynci, The Serpents tread a fine line between delirium and stark reality. The result of a couple of sojourns in deepest Wales, this one-off album is not so much a meeting of cultures but an opportunity to throw caution to the wind and reinvent Krautrock. A very strange piece of work. (6/10) JS

CAST: Magic Hour (Polydor) - The second-rate Scousers return with another hour's-worth of vaguely radio-friendly guitar pop drivel. Opening track Beat Mama sounds chirpy and lively but the lyrics are meaningless and it's only an enjoyable listen because it's so familiar, having been given far too much radio play. There is nothing wrong with the rest of the album but there's nothing right with it either. The words are cliches, the riffs are predictable and the orchestral accompaniments are a vain attempt to gloss over the poor quality of the whole affair. Their proficiency cannot be denied but the talent and ideas seems to have ground to a halt. (4/10) PB

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