THE big-haired eccentric whose voice lies somewhere between a coffee grinder and coffee itself is back, thanks to will. i. am from the Black Eyed Peas who has signed her to his label. He and Fergie appear here and, although it won't rock the world, it's a fine, complete album. On occasion it's watery and flat and sustaining the formula of jazz-tinged r'n'b often becomes the raison d'etre of this record. But Macy's loveable voice rises to the top here, effortlessly sprinkling every track with her unique flavour.

Dowload: 'Finally Made Me Happy', 'Get Out', 'Treat Me Like Your Money' Una Mullally

Hinder Extreme Behaviour Universal (38m 17s) OH, it's extreme all right . . . extremely rubbish. Hinder have made the world a slightly worse place with the launch of this awful Nickleback pastiche. It's sold a bazillion copies in the US where college students are clearly too drunk and dumb to understand that this is the worst record released this year. "Go home and get stoned/Cause the sex is so much better when you're mad at me", yells Austin Winkler . . . in his desperately fake gravel voice (more like pebbledash). There are no redeeming qualities to this album.

Melody-less, brainless and boring.

So bad, it actually made me angry.

Hinder . . . you, me, outside, now.

Download: another album UM

Cornelius Sensuous Matador (53m 31s) . . .

OFTEN referred to as Japan's Beck, Keigo Oyamada has been ripping up and rehashing electronic pop and funk motifs for over a decade, confounding and delighting in equal measure. Now a dad, the 37-year-old however shows no signs of growing up, playing musical hopscotch on this vast sonic highway. If the ideas are too obscure maybe it makes more sense to view Cornelius as a musical accompaniment to the country's Superflat movement in which artists such as Takashi Murakami consider Japan's response losing the war has been to retreat into childlike behaviour and rampant consumerism. Now it makes sense.

Download: 'Gum' 'Omstart' 'Fit Song' Neil Dunphy

Bright Eyes Cassadaga Polydor (48m 02s) . .I'VEmanaged to avoid the 12 or so albums Conor Oberst and his constantly evolving troupe of musicians that make up Bright Eyes have produced in the past decade. 2005 was a difficult year - there were three albums and a whole lot of teenage knicker throwing to ignore. I actually gave this one a chance and can report that it is a huge American folk album featuring a requisite number of hipsters (such as M Ward) that could be Simon & Garfunkel, wants to be Sufjan Stevens but with every listen sounds more and more like Josh Ritter. Go figure.

Download: 'Hot Knives' 'Middleman' 'I Must Belong Somewhere' ND