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This week's new CDs

Kasabian: Empire

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This week's new albums are a real mixed batch including releases from Kasabian, who have produced a 21st-century glam rock feast, Outkast, Ice Cube and no other than IT Girl Paris Hilton.

Kasabian: Empire
Sony/BMG
****
Kasabian have a cocky reputation - and a smash self-titled 2004 debut - but their block rockin' processed beats tended to lack soulful finesse. Yet their second album Empire is a refined brew, kicking off with the single of the same name, combining the anthemic (Seek And Destroy) and the memorably downbeat (British Legion). At its best, this is a 21st-century glam rock feast, laced with Tom Meighan's bolshie vocals and beefy basslines on tracks such as Shoot The Runner. The Oasis comparisons and sell-out live dates will surely keep coming. This is new material to make hearts swell. AH

Outkast: Idlewild
RCA
****
Following 2003's magnum opus Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, Outkast regroup for Idlewild, a 25-track album built on something old, something new, something borrowed (Cab Calloway hooks on the single Mighty O) and something bluesy. It links to their upcoming film but not all of this material features onscreen. Not all of it works, either; lacklustre numbers include Snoop Dogg's cameo on Hollywood Divorce and Macy Gray's cabaret turn on Greatest Show On Earth. However, it's studded with brilliance, from Mutron Angel's ethereal soul to the exuberant Morris Brown, produced by Andrè, performed by Big Boi and a marching band.AH

Slayer: Christ Illusion
WEA
****
A new generation of rockers have muscled into mainstream favour, but old veterans wield the fiercest riffs. So all hail US stalwarts Slayer, back on savage form with Christ Illusion. Topical themes - the military hallucinations of Eyes Of The Insane, the garbled nightmare of Jihad - flank traditional controversy. The band's usual anti-religion rants sound like impotent fury and their parent-shocking quality may have worn thin. Yet there's undeniable power at play here: namely, Slayer's superlative rhythm section - Dave Lombardo's frenetic bass drums and skull-crushing funk sections.AH

Paris Hilton: Paris
WEA
**
Pop thrives on the absurd, and Paris Hilton's long-hyped album - simply titled Paris - might have been a blast. No, really. Her reggaelite hit Stars Are Blind proved bizarrely charming. But the hotel heiress tires of her new hobby and Scott Storch's high-sheen production can't salvage this. There is guilty pleasure in her collaboration with rapper Fat Joe on Fightin' Over Me but frankly Nicole Richie always outclassed her on their TV series The Simple Life. Paris's karaoke cover of Do Ya Think I'm Sexy recalls her replacement best friend - Rod Stewart's daughter Kimberly. That's hot. Not.AH

Ice Cube: Laugh Now, Cry Later
Virgin
***
Laugh Now, Cry Later, Ice Cube's first album since 2000 is a lesson in G-rap nostalgia. Unashamedly retro, Swizz Beatz, Lil Jon and Green Lantern back up the West Coast veteran. Despite his Hollywood success, he's still p***ed off. He's spouting politicised rhymes that take a swipe at all comers; spendthrift attitudes, the indignity of having The Terminator as state governor and a band-wagon-jumping attack on giving evidence (on Stop Snitchin') are accompanied by paeans to weed, bouncing in low-riders and the usual casual misogyny. Snoop Dogg guests, complementing the oldschool feel of this solid collection. This may lack his early work's scorching intensity but Ice Cube is still a relevant force. SM

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