Elektrons Red Light
Don't Stop Wall of Sound (52m )
. . . .

THE Unabombers have slipped into a more populist guise with their latest moniker. This attempt to harness the sweaty ADHD energyladen vibe of their live performances is largely successful.

It's got more energy than Lovefoxxx on crystal meth, with bouncy hiphop and house backed up by an allBritish cast of vocalists and MCs that shine. Grime, soul and house are combined to great effect. The complexity, variety and oomph of the sounds are effortlessly eclectic.

Definitely one you could slap on at a party and not have to touch for nearly an hour.

Download: 'Stop It Hold It', 'Get Up', 'Classical Cliche'

Una Mullally

Michael Fakesch
DosK7 Records (48m )
. . .

FORMERLY one half of Funkstorung, Fakesch is clearly a massive fan of Prince and Jamie Lidell. If only he kept that sentiment off this record. The spliced synths, and eight-bit influences are far more appealing, than the apish Princey vocals. The occasional funk moments spoil things a little, but still, there are some great heavy tracks on this rather avant-garde, manic and occasionally mindwarping record . . . full of breaks, blips, slips and chips. 'On The Floor' is a brilliantly dirty revved-up tune, and 'Blackbird' stretches the limits of song structure. Less funk, more oomph.

Download: 'On The Floor', 'Escalate' UM Super Furry Animals Hey Venus!

Rough Trade
(53m 20s) . . . .

THERE was always a chance the Furries would record their version of the Flaming Lips' Yoshimi . . . an album that alerts the wider world to the genius that has been bubbling under the mainstream for the past decade or so. Hey Venus! may be that record. Ostensibly it's a tight, simple folk rock album until you dig the twist of mescaline that infuses the 11 songs. Like Yoshimi, it chronicles the adventures of a young girl (Venus) on her way from the country to the big city and the only dodgy moment is on 'Into The Night' where Gruff Rhys sounds a bit like Bob Geldof.

Download: 'Baby Ate My Eightball', 'Show Your Hand' 'Carbon Dating'

Neil Dunphy

Robyn Robyn
Konichiwa Records (53m 20s)
. . .

TWENTY-NINE years old is probably a bit young to be releasing a 'comeback' album but when you have had two dancefloor chart hits ('Show Me Love' and 'Do You Know (What it Takes)') 10 years ago, this is where Swedish child prodigy Robin Miriam Carlsson happens to find herself. Having ditched her record company and enlisted the services of The Knife, the daughter of Swedish actors has made a fourth album of disturbingly good electro-pop. Think a couple of parts Gwen Stefani and a few slices of Peaches and you're close.

Download: 'Handle Me', 'Be Mine' 'Who's That Girl'

ND

Jazz
Various Artists
Jazzland Community Jazzland
. . . .

OSLO-BASED label Jazzland, founded by Norwegian keyboard guru Bugge Wesseltoft, was one of the key protagonists in the rise of what was called nu-jazz. For its tenth anniversary, some of the label's most influential artists . . .

including guitarist Eivind Aarset, singer Sidsel Endresen, saxophonist Hokon Kornstod and Wesseltoft himself . . . took to the road around Europe and played a series of largely improvised concerts.

The resulting live recording provides a vivid glimpse into the musical minds that have put Scandanavian jazz firmly at the heart of the contemporary scene.

Cormac Larkin

Classical
Mozart: Piano Trios
The Florestan Trio Hyperion
. . . . .

EXACTLY one year after their first recording of Mozart for Hyperion, the Florestan trio returned to London's Henry Wood Hall, with renowned producer Andrew Keener, to create the sequel through the medium of the Divertimento K254 and the trios K496 and K548.

The Florestan, which comprises ICO artistic director, Anthony Marwood, cellist Richard Lester and pianist Susan Tomes, have picked up awards for all of their Hyperion recordings and this title is unlikely to cause any kind of deviation from this pattern. Such is the infinite detail of this creation and the result so physically exciting, that this listening experience is a near- exhausting one.

Karen Dervan