Queens of the Stone Age clatter some more drum beats, while Suzanne Vega reminds the audience of her talent in this week's best CDs.

POP
Queen's of the Stone Age (Interscope)
Era Vulgaris
***
There seems to be a general feeling that Josh Homme and his merry men have played their hand as far as it will stretch and have become a busted flush. It is true that the Queens' formula remains the same: clattering drum beats and Asbo guitars set up a thunderous racket which then suddenly is sweetened with choruses drenched in sweet melody. The good news is that the formula continues to work well on such songs as I'm Designer, Into the Hollow and 3's & 7's. It's like being beaten up and then revived with an infusion of honey. Even better are the gentler tunes such as Make It Wit Chu and Suture Up Your Future which slide past in a gentle haze that disguises undercurrents of malice and sexual mayhem. PETE CLARK

Suzanne Vega
Beauty and Crime (EMI)
****
Always the darkest and most literate of the Eighties generation of female singer-songwriters, Suzanne Vega invariably takes her time. Beauty and Crime is only her seventh album since 1985's self-titled debut and her first in six years. This one features KT Tunstall and Sonic Youth's Lee Ranaldo and it's primarily a homage to her adopted home, New York. Angel's Doorway and Anniversary are moving and intelligent additions to the 9/11 canon; the string-laden As You Are Now is a beautifully observed but unsentimental celebration of maternal love and Edith Wharton's Figurines the latest in Vega's distinguished line of snappy pop songs. Less a return to form, more a reminder that Suzanne Vega is a special talent. JOHN AIZLEWOOD

Tiny Dancers
Free School Milk (Parlophone)
**
Following the success of cuddly M&S advertisers The Feeling, a few new bands seem to be competing to see who can be the nicest. Ghosts, Mumm-ra and Yorkshire quintet Tiny Dancers have all been filling the lower end of the charts with jolly jangling, though the latter's ceaseless cheeriness quickly irritates over the course of an entire album.

Too many songs, including their latest single Hannah We Know and the impossibly twee Baby Love, are propelled by the same bouncing, line dancing bassline, and singer David Kay's thin voice doesn't have the personality to lift them beyond status as disposable toe tappers. Twinkling ballad Ashes and Diamonds displays a depth of feeling that is lacking elsewhere, but it isn't enough. DAVID SMYTH

JAZZ
Claire Martin
He Never Mentioned Love (Linn Records)
****
Shirley Horn, who was renowned for her velvet voice, hip piano work and ultra-laidback tempos, is Claire Martin's favourite singer. Backed by the cream of UK talent, including pianist Gareth Williams, bass-guitarist Laurence Cottle, altoist Nigel Hitchcock and flugelhornist Gerard Presencer, she restrains her usual vocal exuberance for a relaxed set of dedicated Hornucopia, including All Night Long, Slow Time and a new tribute number, Slowly But Shirley, which I think would have made a better album title.

Ev'rything Must Change includes a sublime guitar solo from another guest, Jim Mullen, who has never sounded better. He's also featured on LA Breakdown a track which demonstrates the poised phrasing and smoky tone that make Ms Martin our most sophisticated jazz singer. JACK MASSARIK

WORLD
Malouma
Nour (Marabi)
****
Malouma's album will cause ears to prick up in curiosity. Singing in gutteral Arabic, she has a strong, slightly sandpapery voice emanating from deeply traditional roots, but it's often framed in very contemporary arrangements, with electronics and electric guitar alongside her traditional desert harp.

She comes from Mauritania, a country whose music is little-known in the West, and she's a political figure at home, outspoken on women's issues. Nour, her second album, is catchy and hypnotic. Chtib represents the traditional Saharan roots of her music and Gamly its more modernised form with programming by Smadj. As a distinctive female voice of Africa, Malouma is a name to watch out for. SIMON BROUGHTON