SINGLES...

FARRAH: Terry (Noisebox) - The issue of taking ecstasy is given a superficial and ill-advised airing by some puerile guitar popsters whose artwork points their single firmly at the younger end of the pop market. It starts with the tale of a bad experience after taking a pill, which suddenly and unexplainedly becomes the best night of their life halfway through this shallow song. Whatever the pros and cons of taking drugs, the reality is that impure Es can be made with some nasty substances ranging from household chemicals to heroin substitutes. The key to tackling drug misuse is education and information. So the discussion of drug use should be left to people with some brain matter. (0/10) PB

ANDREA PARKER: The Unknown (Mo Wax) - The soft, brooding female vocal, with its careful delivery, combines with some low-key beats. But it sounds like just like what Tricky and Massive Attack were doing back in 1995. Trip-hop, as it was then dubbed, was a great new sound, and this is as good as anything else. But surely it's time someone moved things on a bit. (5/10) PB

ALBUMS...

LLAMA FARMERS: Dead Letter Chorus (Beggars Banquet) - These fuzz-rockers were tipped by HMV as one of the big new names of 1999. Maybe the corporate giants know more about market patterns than I do, but I can't see what will get people flocking to buy this album. It fails to stand out from any other soft indie guitar band of the past decade. The half-mumbled rock vocals and self-indulgent lyrics are delivered with a general sloppiness which aims to pass as casual swagger. After a while I hardly noticed it was playing. (5/10) PB

VARIOUS ARTISTS: Smash Hits Summer 99 (Circa) - If anyone knows what the kids want, it's pop magazine Smash Hits. Cynics might say that is because Smash Hits tells the kids what they should be buying. This album is an accurate reflection of what is being pushed at teenagers and includes songs by Geri Halliwell, Vengaboys, 911, Phats and Small and Boyzone. These are the tunes you can expect to hear blasting out of radios all summer long. Some more mature offerings are included, such as Robbie Williams, The Corrs, Super Furry Animals and Mishka. But I doubt that any of the 40 tunes here will be remembered with much fondness in 10 years time. And that's the test of true pop. (6/10) PB DELIRIOUS?: Mezzamorphis (Furious Records) This is the point where Martin Smith and Delirious? have finally fulfilled all their early promise, bringing quality and credibility to Christian pop music. Gone are the 80s guitar tracks of their earlier work, replaced with a bang-up-to-date explosion of programmed keyboards and synths. Tracks like Gravity are not alone in treading the line of sounds that have proved so successful for Radiohead. But where Thom York finds lyrics filled with insecurity and angst, Matt Smith allows the message of hope in his faith, to shine through. Unfortunately in the harsh reality of the music world, publicity pop rules, leaving this collection another hidden treasure. (8/10) CL

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.