The truly indestructible Sugababes return for their fifth album and London songsmith Jack Peñate aims to vindicate all that gushing praise.

POP
Sugababes
Change (Universal)
***
In the unlikely event of a nuclear holocaust, I'd like to be stood next to a Sugababe - they can survive anything. On this, their fifth album, they overcome the triple whammy of founder member Mutya Buena's departure, what should have been a career-ending greatest hits set and their thunder being stolen by Girls Aloud. Seemingly unaffected, and without sounding remotely interested at any point, the trio have simply done what they have always done and bashed out another selection of super-taut, super-efficient handbag pop, such as their rip- roaring sixth number one single About You Now and the splendidly exuberant Denial. Change's strength lies in the group's refusal to change their sound, no matter how often they change their personnel. Truly indestructible. JOHN AIZLEWOOD

Beirut
The Flying Club Cup (4AD)
****
Beirut is Zach Condon, a 21-yearold prodigy from New Mexico who has never been to the Lebanese capital, nor even the Balkans, the region whose gipsy folk sound coloured his remarkable debut album, Gulag Orkestar. Wary of accusations of being a mere pastiche merchant, this time France is the theme - at least he has lived in Paris. This means waltzing accordions and horns, plucked strings and Condon's tremulous voice , a dramatic, stirring sound that is oceans away from anything else coming out of the North American indie scene. The tense piano loops of In the Mausoleum and fluttering flutes of the title track stand out on an album that entirely succeeds in its goal of whisking the listener to an enticing new place. DAVID SMYTH

Jack Penate
Matinee (XL Recordings)
***
With his debut album, 22-year old south London songsmith Peñate aims to vindicate the gushing praise he's received from those who see him as the UK's most brilliant new singer/songwriter. He almost succeeds with this combination of sophisticated ballads and frenzied rock-out tracks.

A love song dedicated to London, Torn on the Platform, combines a cheeky ska rhythm for the verses with a punk-flavoured chorus. It sounds silly, but combined with Peñate's heart-on-the-sleeve lyrics, it works. Featuring gritty rockabilly lead guitar work over an otherwise fresh acoustic sound, new single Second, Minute or Hour is a cracker, careering along with energy levels sure to set teenage pulses racing. But on balance, endearing lyrics notwithstanding, Peñate's songwriting doesn't yet live up to the hype. No matter - the potential is there and, for the moment, his infectious youthful vigour will be more than enough to carry him through. CHRIS ELWELL-SUTTON

Gabrielle
Always (Universal)
***
Five albums in 14 years is hardly evidence that Gabrielle Bobb is imbued with a goodly measure of the Protestant work ethic. And it's a little scary that her breakthrough hit, Dreams, was released the same year as Jurassic Park. Always doesn't really acknowledge the intervening years, with Gabrielle's creamy soul template still topped by her raspy, Macy Gray-lite vocals. As a result, Always's success is down to the strength of the songs and there are some very good ones, although the lead single, Why, based on Paul Weller's Wild Wood, isn't one of them. I Remember, reminiscent of classic Marvin Gaye, is much stronger while the title track skips along at a fair old pace but never forgets to carry the tune with it. PAUL CONNOLLY

DANCE
Giles Smith & James Priestley
secretsundaze (secretsundaze)
****
Hallelujah, the compilation every self-respecting club kid has twitched for all summer. If you couldn't afford a visit to The White Isle this season, the only decent alternative was Smith and Priestley's (s)mashing Sunday daytime electro-head parties held on Canvas's sun-soaked terrace. The exemplary duo (founders and resident DJs) have each mixed a CD of soulful, skittish electronic beats that slip easily between soporifically mellow (Monne Automne), canyon-deep house (Franck Roger), thumpy techno and jokesy vocal-driven disco (see Doctor's Cat's Feel The Drive). For under 40p a track these bits of polycarbonate will keep you sane all winter. See you there next summer. Right down there in front of the speakers. MARTHA DE LACEY

COUNTRY
Teddy Thompson
Upfront & Down Low (Verve Forecast)
****
Being the son of Richard and Linda, the father and mother of British folk-rock, can't be easy for young Teddy. Yet, his second album, 2006's Separate Ways, was a magnificent adventure through folkrock and power-pop and displayed not only a distinctive guitar style but also a lovely, keening voice. So it seems a little odd that for his follow-up he's made an album of country covers. But it turns out to be a grand idea. His voice is perfectly equipped to take on songs from country legends such as George Jones, Ernest Tubbs and Dolly Parton. In Thompson's hands the latter's My Blue Tears is revealed to be not only a country classic but a classic period, while Thompson's one composition, the title track, has him come across as a British Jim Reeves. An unlikely triumph. PAUL CONNOLLY

JAZZ
Raul Midon
A World Within a World (Blue Note)
***
The latest addition to next month's international London Jazz Festival, Raul Midón is a blind Afro-Argentine prodigy from New Mexico who now shares high-profile tours with Kanye West, Randy Newman and Jamie Cullum. Originally evocative of Stevie Wonder, who played harmonica on his previous album, State of Mind, he sounds more laid-back and pop-flavoured here. "I love Paul Simon or James Taylor or Prince as much as I love Miles," he explains. Producer Joe Mardin's violins occasionally take a treacly step too far, but new songs like Pick Somebody Up, Caminando (sung in Spanish) and I've Got All the Answers confirm Midón as a top-class singer-composer. And his oneman backing-band prowess as guitarist, percussionist and voice-trumpeter is always fascinating to watch. JACK MASSARIK

WORLD
Justin Adams & Juldeh Camara
Soul Science (Wayward)
****
Justin Adams plays guitar in Robert Plant's band, Strange Sensations, and also produced the dynamic last album by Touareg rockers Tinariwen. So it's perhaps no surprise that this disc should be such a blast of highly-charged rock guitar laced with a desert twang and the sinewy curl of the one-string ritti. His collaborator, Juldeh Camara, is a Gambian griot, a dusky vocalist and a master player of the ritti fiddle which plays a major solo role here and lends an earthy grittiness with its electric guitar-style solos. It's very contemporary, but with all the magic of the desert. In place of rock drums, which might have deadened the beat, there's give-and-take African percussion from Salah Dawson Miller. An album to make the word fusion respectable again. SIMON BROUGHTON