Andrea Corr - Ten Feet High

I'll start off here by making on thing clear. I hate The Corrs. I really do. Their bland, insipid and infectiously evil brand of wholesome pop music is a plague upon the Earth and I'm not just saying that because I once had to endure listening to Breathless over and over and OVER again on a (thankfully brief) car journey with a mate. Sure, their most recent album, the folky and traditional-sounding Home was alright, but it was still tarnished by the memory of all those endlessly cheerful and anodyne hits (not least their castration of Fleetwood Mac's Dreams). So why is it that I'm about to give Andrea Corr's (the one who doesn't really play an instrument and can't really sing that well either) solo album a good review? Who knows, but I am. It's probably got a lot to do with producer Nellee Hooper, the man responsible for producing so much great music by the likes of Massive Attack, Bjork, Sinead O'Connor, Gwen Stefani and, erm, Holly Valance (let's skip over that one). Hooper has worked his magic on Corr to great a sound that is recognisable for her, but yet utterly different from the music she makes with her siblings. You have to give her credit for this as well as her producer. After all, she has written all the songs herself (apart from a good cover of Take Me I'm Yours by Squeeze) and isn't just singing about being left breathless by someone or being so young. Indeed, the first single (which she had to work hard to convince her record company to get released) is an anti-war tune from the perspective of a woman left behind by her soldier being sent off to fight, while Champagne From A Straw is a vicious attack on the culture of footballers' wives (and trophy wives in general): "My man sleeps around a bit; keeps him from my bed; one less job for me to do". With its sunny chorus tinged with a calypso beat, it's clearly influenced by Lily Allen, but Corr and Hooper have taken a variety of influences when it comes to the music, whilst never straying too far from the pop path. However, even when at its poppiest, like on 24 Hours, Ten Feet High is still a world away from The Corrs, sounding much more mature and sophisticated. Andrea Corr has made this album because her brother and sisters are off making babies (not together we assume) and could quite easily have just come up with an identikit solo album, but this isn't that at all. It shows that while her voice isn't the best and there will still be plenty of sceptics who won't be converted by Ten Feet High, she's clearly got talents that were hidden away until now. One of the most surprisingly impressive albums of the year so far, without a doubt. Who would have thought it?

Devil Sold His Soul - A Fragile Hope

Devil Sold His Soul are a British heavy metal band who like to make a heck of a racket, but there's more to them than that. They have risen from the ashes (very heavy metal) of Mahumodo, another band who pioneered this kind of music, taking the quiet/loud staple of rock music to a new level by mixing up very heavy riffing and screaming with sections that are almost chill-out ambient. This is best summed up by the opening to A Fragile Hope, which is a two-and-a-half-minute quiet intro track before As The Storm Unfolds brings an aural apocalypse of noise. This certainly isn't music for the fainthearted, because Devil Sold His Soul don't take any prisoners when they cut loose, but they're so much more than just a load of headbangers, seemingly taking their cue from the likes of Devin Townsend, Deftones and Mogwai all at the same time. God only knows what any of these songs are about, because most of the lyrics are completely incomprehensible, but you won't find many albums as epic and cinematic as A Fragile Hope. You may find yourself loving and hating it at the same time when you first listen to it, but it's an album that really grows on you.

Yusuf Islam - Yusuf's Cafe Session DVD

The artist formerly known as Cat Stevens made his return to the music world last year, and while the masses didn't really notice, it was a delight for fans as Yusuf showed that he hadn't lost anything from his years of self-imposed retirement. On 1st March this year, he made a historic return to the live arena too by playing his first full-length gig in over 28 years, at the Porchester Hall in London. It's not a spectacular show, by any means, with Yusuf on his acoustic guitar and the audience all very respectful. Take That's comeback shows it ain't, but you wouldn't expect any bombast from one of pop's most understated musicians. His voice is warm and shows no signs of rustiness, while the musicians backing him give the songs great depth and colour. Yusuf plays a mixture of old hits and tracks from last year's An Other cup album, occasionally throwing a curveball, like the 'Zulu' version of Wild World, (which isn't really that different from the original actually) making for a DVD that isn't spectacular, but is certainly enjoyable, peaceful and impressive.