50 CENT

The Massacre (Interscope)

He may come with a monotone flow but there's no denying 50 Cent's vocal charisma. Put him up against a cunning linguist like Eminem (on the catchy 'Gatman and Robbin') and 50 pales in comparison, but his seductive drawl is still charming. The New York rapper's sophomore album hits on all the lyrical and musical tropes - some might say cliches - of gangsta rap and contemporary hip hop (including gats, bitches, paranoia, chronic and old soul samples) and comes up with an A-level production that (mostly) works both in the club and in your headphones. Having been busy moulding The Game, Dr. Dre's influence is limited, but the presence of other producers (including C. Styles & Bang Out, Needlz and Scott Storch) makes for a greater variety of tracks. At 21 joints, though, that's a lot of 50, especially when he spends all his time self aggrandizing. But, hey, that's what the fast forward button was made for.

6

Brian Slade

The Hugh Dillon Redemption Choir

The High Cost of Low Living (Maple Music)

I have no interest in disparaging the Headstones - they were a solid Canadian rock & roll band in their day - but singer Hugh Dillon's black humour and love of a good song seems to have come to real fruition with his new band. A layer of abrasive chaos has been scraped away and the result is clear-headed, unrushed, smirking rock & roll that should find a home with beer-soaked punters and effete rock critics alike. 'What It Takes' epitomizes the new band's tough-minded rock aesthetic, while 'My Mistakes' is a restrained and moody bit of self-examination that weaves a subliminal organ riff into staccato guitar chords. Dillon, a punk with a black heart of gold, can still rock but now he knows that he doesn't necessarily have to.

6

Macaulay Connor

FISCHERSPOONER

Odyssey (Capitol Records)

Hey, Fischerspooner wrote some songs! The ³hyper mediocrity² of Casey Spooner and Warren Fischer's first album, #1, got a pass from a lot of people (me included) because of the duo's sheer force of personality and the sweet glam imagery that surrounded their half-baked electroclash ditties. That and they had one great song, 'Emerge'. There's no way they'd be able to get away with it a second time, what with electroclash having been basically strangled in its crib, so FS has beefed up their sound with guitars. They've also written some big choruses, and Spooner now modulates his cool vocal delivery to actually emote hither and thither. First single 'Just Let Go' neatly shows the evolution, with blip-bloop keyboards sidling up to dramatic guitar chord changes and a spiffy disco beat. The humour is still New York deadpan, but Odyssey searches for - and finds - a universal groove.

7

Sean Plummer

LISA MARIE PRESLEY

Now What (Capitol Records)

Expectations for Lisa Marie Presley were both high and low: she had her father to live up to, but as a 30-something mother making her debut with 2003's To Whom It May Concern, how dedicated to music could she be? Well, Concern was a well-crafted rocker that showcased Presley's tough, husky voice and prickly personality. Now What further refines that don't-give-a-s**t attitude, blending elements of old school country, rock and pop into tracks that shine with distinctive choruses and clear-sighted, unsentimental insights into the nastier side of humanity. Credit some of that tighter craftsmanship to co-writer Linda Perry and Presley's greater vocal control. Faves include 'Thanx', a sneering uptempo kiss-off to a former friend, and 'Shine', a windswept ballad featuring backing vocals from Pink. The album's only real misstep is a clueless cover of Don Henley's 'Dirty Laundry' that, while thematically appropriate to Presley's paparazzi-plagued existence, is surprisingly toothless.

6

CK Dexter Haven

GARBAGE

Bleed Like Me (Geffen)

The songs are so sweet but so deadly. Bleed Like Me, Garbage's fourth album, is another potent helping of sharp-tongued vitriol that continues to showcase singer Shirley Manson's sex-kitten-with-claws demeanour and pointed words. Some of the keyboards have been unplugged and the guitars turned up since their last album, Beautiful Garbage, making tracks like 'Bad Boyfriend', 'Why Don't You Come Over' and first single 'Why Do You Love Me' potentially fatal live fodder. The band's keen sense of melody is intact, especially on the title track (a painful but hopeful litany of f**ked-up characters) and the almost-ballad 'It's All Over But The Crying'. Alternately glorious and just plain fun.

7

Brian Slade

M.I.A.

Arular (XL Recordings)

Beneath the hipster media hype ushering Sri Lankan-born London resident Maya Arulpragasam's debut into the marketplace lies a vital, sexy, socially conscious, real record that marries her sultry patois to syncopated rhythms and shimmering electronics. Arular is a dancefloor spectacular born of dancehall, garage beats and grime whose attractions will outlive both her bio (her family fled war-torn Sri Lanka in the mid '80s) and the superficial gloss of the foreign. Tracks like 'Pull Up The People', 'Bucky Done Gun' and 'Galang' are propulsive masterworks that sound bracingly fresh and vaguely familiar all at once.

8

Sean Plummer

- Sean Plummer

That the Scissor Sisters' first public performance came just ten days after 9/11 makes perfect sense, as their particular form of campy pop disco is a sure cure for whatever misery might ail you. Which means that everyone - not just fans - should seek out WE ARE SCISSOR SISTERS... AND SO ARE YOU, the New York quintet's absolutely fabulous new DVD. Truly, this is a model for what a music DVD should be. The concert footage ('Live From The Brighton Dome') showcases not only the multiple costume changes of twin leads Jake Shears and Ana Matronic but naughty backstage antics and the group's sexy audience; the videos are collected (except their suggestive 'Filthy/Gorgeous' clip - a shame); and the band documentary, 'Return To Oz' is - get this - actually interesting, detailing as it does the Sisters' evolution from electroclash cabaret act to ass-kicking live unit.

Eagle Vision's CLASSIC ALBUMS series represents some of the best TV music journalism around. Eschewing flashy graphics and annoying voiceovers, the series instead details the creation of said classic albums using live concert and video footage, and compelling talking head interviews with band members, record company hacks and journalists. Best among the company's recent releases is NIRVANA: NEVERMIND. Surving members Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic join the likes of producer Butch Vig, Rolling Stone editor David Fricke, Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore and Sub Pop head Jonathan Poneman in recounting the band's evolution from purveyors of dissonant punk to dealers in melodic rock. Kurt Cobain's death hangs over the show but is never dealt with directly. Instead, we hear about Nevermind's monstrous, organic success and its unexpected consequences - some of which, of course, were fatal. Other recent programs examine Simply Red's Stars album (I would have voted for Picture Book personally) and Motorhead's Ace of Spades.