POP
N*E*R*D
Seeing Sounds (Polydor)
***
Despite the ubiquitousness of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo's R&B production jobs as The Neptunes, the prolific pair still give their live band incarnation N*E*R*D a sound of its own. On their third album, rock guitar, funk and Williams's rather flimsy falsetto share equal billing with more conventional hip hop elements. It's a chaotic noise that works best in concert — the chorus of Everyone Nose, “All the girls standing in the line for the bathroom”, will sound great when the Brixton Academy crowd sing it on 14 June. Soft-rock moments such as Sooner or Later are less successful but when the invention for which they are famous kicks in, as on the frantic Spaz, there's no one else like them.
DAVID SMYTH

LYKKE LI
Youth Novels (LL)
***
Sweden's Lykke Li Zachrisson is very much part of the kooky but detached Scandinavian wave which began with the neglected Stina Nordenstam, reached its contrived height with Björk and found a more rewarding level with Robyn. Lykke Li matches weary but knowing little girl vocals with reasonably adventurous, vaguely chill-out musical backdrops which can surprise and delight — as with This Trumpet in My Head's flamenco introduction and Complaint Department's icy synthesiser. The results are achingly hip but I'm Good I'm Gone and the lovely Melodies and Desires suggest she's blessed with the knack of penning a memorable tune, so longevity may beckon. Wherever she goes now, it'll be intriguing.
JOHN AIZLEWOOD

THE FRATELLIS
Here We Stand (Island)
**
The picture on the front of this CD shows a suited and top-hatted man holding a megaphone and one of those black sticks that sometimes make magic happen. Behind is a tent in which, no doubt, The Fratellis are performing. This would be the perfect habitat for a group that seems somehow determined to recreate the spirit of music hall and set it in a modern context. There are those who will enjoy this spirited collection of simple and repetitive saloon bar rock, with every instrument beaten into submission. And each song has a story to tell. The problem is, unfortunately, that I've heard it all before — mostly in the Seventies.
PETE CLARK

JAZZ
KRIS GAYLE
8.00am (Big Milk Music)
****
Never assume that London monopolises British jazz talent, especially with sounds as sophisticated as these arriving from funky Falmouth. Startled by the opening track, Blue in Green, I searched for the likes of George Duke, Stanley Clarke or Nancy Wilson among the credits, finding instead local heroes such as keyboarder/arranger Viv Rodd, drummer/bass-guitarist/ producer Damian Rodd and singer Kris Gayle. Her vocal interpretations of All Blues, I'm All Smiles and It Never Entered My Mind are simply top-class. Luscious brass arrangements and expert sound-mixing add further Cornish cream to this unexpected treat.
JACK MASSARIK

WORLD
SPIERS & BODEN
Vagabond (Navigator Records)
****
A couple of years ago, John Spiers and Jon Boden founded Bellowhead, the most successful English folk band of the age. But they've been producing fine duo albums for years. Vagabond is their fifth. The title alludes to the fact that the six songs are about or related by outsiders and these are interlaced with expressive instrumentals on fiddle and melodeon. There's Tom Padget, about a beggar of some distinction, and the Birth of Robin Hood, conceived from an illicit nighttime encounter. These are songs learned from other singers or from collections of ballads but made alive and immediate, ending with The Rain it Rains from the end of Twelfth Night, with a nice five-beat lilt.
SIMON BROUGHTON