PLACEBO: Every You Every Me (Hut) - More edgy rock riffing and unsettling lyrics from Brian Molko. I prefer listening to him to looking at him. That's not because I have a problem with cross-dressers, just because he looks a bloody mess. The driving bassline keeps this rock single moving and it's a solid alternative offering. (7/10) PB

LEILANI: Madness Thing (ZTT) - This half-Chinese, quarter Maltese and quarter Irish 20-year-old is billed as a pop sensation just waiting to happen. But then so is everyone else I get press packages on. The silly-sounding chorus "Touch me, touch me with your madness thing, touch me, touch me, make me swing" seems more than a little inane. And some of the cheesy teen angst lyrics will make twentysomethings cringe. But when you look at the success of dullards like Billie, this does have a spark of originality, especially when a slightly ethnic beat and a sitar break kick in towards the end. I don't like it too much but I'll tip it for chart success. (6/10) PB THE DIVINE COMEDY: National Express (Setenta) - Guaranteed to make you smile, this tune sounds like The Doors doing Tom Jones with tongue firmly in cheek. The lyrics are an amusing comedy parody rather in the style of Jarvis Cocker. Horn sections and backing singers give a wonderful richness of sound and author Neil Hannon describes the whole thing as "a little light relief". He's on tour soon with pal Robbie Williams, on whose single No Regrets he recently guested. I couldn't make my mind up about The Divine Comedy's album but this single certainly gets my vote. (9/10) PB

ALBUM

FOXY BROWN: Chyna Doll (Def Jam/Mercury) - This 19-year-old rapper made her debut in 1995 with a guest appearance on LL Cool J's track I Shot Ya. She has also made appearances on successful singles by artists including Jay-Z and Toni Braxton. Here she releases her second album, a mixture of laid-back, polished hip-hop with plenty of female attitude and street life boasts. There's plenty of grunting and groaning here too, not least on the introduction track which I suppose it meant to symbolise Foxy's birth. The good bits include the uncompromising Dog And A Fox and the relaxed '80s hip-hop sound of brief instrumental Bomb Ass. As with so much rap though, there's a little too much posturing and not enough rhyme and reason for my liking. (5/10 ) PB

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