Kaiser Chiefs
Yours Truly, Angry Mob B-Unique Records (44m 36s) . . .

What happened? "Coz this should be a thrill, but it feels like a drill, " the Kaisers sing. The messiness and exuberance has been compressed into something flat and dreary. Everything . . . from the serious cover mug shots to singer Ricky Wilson limply tapping a tambourine . . . says "jaded". Yes, there are plenty of catchy hooks and contagious "lalala-oooohs", but lyrically and musically it is devoid of the youthfulness that encapsulated Employment. In fact, it sounds like the boys just got a job.

Download: 'The Angry Mob', 'Boxing Champ'

Una Mullally

Eoin Coughlan Blood In Vein Dock Road Records (48m 20s) . . .

Eleven sincere and wintery tracks from Limerick-based Coughlan are no unwelcome thing this time of year. Cameos from Gemma Hayes and Damien Dempsey bulk out this rather upbeat collection of wellcrafted tunes. Some of the breeziness evokes The Harvest Ministers, although a rather contemporary approach to the production shines a finish a little too glossy. As an album, it won't rock the world, but there is spirit and heart here.

Download: 'Blue', 'Rusty Nails'

UM

Yoko Ono Yes, I'm A Witch EMI Music (68m 39s) . . . .

I've never seriously delved into the back catalogue of John Lennon's ex. There was enough madness surrounding her to make it seem worthwhile. Now comes this: 17 remixes of her canon from some of the hippest artists making music today. Cat Power, The Flaming Lips and many more take Ono's original vocals and mash them into a fluid, funny and sexy record that would sit nicely alongside your Bjork or Gorillaz cds. After turning 74 last Sunday, Ono may be about to be properly heard for the first time.

Download: 'Cambridge', '1969/2007', 'Kiss, Kiss'

Neil Dunphy

Bill Coleman I'll Tear My Own Walls Down Self released (46m 05s) . .Be afraid: all of a sudden there seems to be a glut of singersongwriters releasing debut albums in Ireland. Mick Flannery and Cork's Bill Coleman are but two bidding to become the Fionn Regan of 2007. Coleman's introspective, often confessional, pop ballads could be compared to Elvis Costello or, more obviously Damien Rice in that they are simple songs that amble along a nice pace without ever really packing a bite. See for yourself at Dublin's Crawdaddy tonight.

Download: ' The Pull Of The Pint' 'Awake' 'First On Me'

ND

Jazz

Branford Marsalis Quartet Braggtown Marsalis Music . . . .

Miles Davis once said that 'sometimes you have to play for a long time to sound like yourself'. A supremely gifted and fluent player of the saxophone, Marsalis is beginning to acquire the sort of individuality and depth that perhaps eluded him as a young man. Working for years with the same muscle-bound rhythm section, particularly drummer Jeff 'Tain' Watts, there was always the utter conviction of a top flight band, but now Marsalis allows a more idiosyncratic light to shine through.

Catch the greatest of the Marsalis brothers plays in the NCH this week.

CL

Classical

Rameau: Keyboard Suites Angela Hewitt Hyperion (77m 78s) . . . . .

French composer, Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683- 1764) receives an outstanding appraisal here from Canadian pianist and Gramophone's 2006 Artist of the Year, Angela Hewitt. Here she casts a judicious eye over three of the five suites from Rameau's collection, Pieces de Clavecin, playing on her favourite Fazioli piano. Every nuance of her interpretation of phrasing and tempo is as crystal clear as her articulation with room still for elegant hints of rubato and cadential flourishes. Hewitt's own comprehensive sleeve notes are a welcome and informative addition

KD