REMY ZERO: These tortured souls from Alabama know how to do very clever and wicked things with their guitars. Employing a dynamic, somewhat ecletic approach, the four songs featured on this, their UK debut, sound as though they could have been recorded by four different bands. It's easy to see why the likes of Radiohead and REM are already big fans. (7/10) JS

PAVEMENT: Carrot Rope (Domino) - With Beck, Radiohead and REM producer Nigel Godrich at the helm, this neatly polished affair indicates a fine return to form for Pavement. It starts off laid back and relaxed before the guitars kick in and excitement over the burning issues of carrots and rope reaches fever pitch. Or something like that. (7/10) JS

TOPLOADER: Achilles Heel (Sony) - Despite the naff name, this isn't a bad effort from a group who have already taken on opening slots for Paul Weller and Noel Gallagher. Decent string arrangements, moody piano and the tormented vocal assault should ensure a fairly decent chart placing. (8/10) JS

FRIDGE: Self-indulgent new electronica with no real sense of direction. Fridge would do well to learn more about krautrock from current touring companions To Rococo Rot. (3/10) JS ALBUMS SUEDE: Head Music (Nude)- Packed with spikey hard-edged guitar riffs and melodies, Suede's fourth studio album will feature amongst the best of the year. Producer Steve Osborne has helped craft a collection of pop tunes as light and bright as Brett Anderson and his group have done to date. Opening track Electricity follows the same formula as their massive and critically acclaimed last album. Richard Oakes's big guitar riffs ride high over swirling synthesisers, leaving Anderson's punchy lyrics to add the final touch to the powerful cocktail. The package unfolds through the warm Everything Will Flow and title track Head Music, but the most outstanding track is She's In Fashion, which shows a new dimension to the band. After the first listen Head Music will be etched on your brain. (9/10) CL

OSCAR G AND RALPH FALCON: The House Music Movement (Master Dance Tones) - Better known as Murk And The Funky Green Dogs, Oscar G and Ralph Falcon are two aspiring DJs from Miami who have turned acid house on its head during the last decade. Their manifesto is simply to satisfy the DJs and the people on the dancefloor, which they certainly do here. Stand-out tracks include Roger Sanchez's Love Dancing and Dextrous by Nightmares On Wax. (7/10 ) JS

DJs PYSCHO-BITCH AND TERI BRISTOL: The Sound of the Underground, Chicago (Master Dance Tones) - The latest release in the Master Dance Tones series focuses on two of Chicago's most indomitable female jocks. The sweetly-named Psycho-Bitch has been terrorising the Windy City's dancefloors for almost a decade, while Teri Bristol has been a permanent fixture at premier nightspot Crobar for 13 years. Together they conjure up a lethal cocktail of hard house, with energy levels at an incredible rate. High points include Koolworld Production's Invader and Spirito's Frontiers. (6/10) JS

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