POP/ROCK

Latest CD releases reviewed

GRAHAM COXON Love Travels at Illegal Speeds Parlophone ****

Former Blur guitarist Graham Coxon has adapted well to the misfortunes of a solo career; over the course of five records he has maintained the demeanor and temperament of a loose cannon, a maverick whose trigger finger is not so much itchy as scratched down to the bone. His latest album builds on the confidence of 2003's Happiness in Magazines. Where once Coxon exuded the speed-stutter of an attention-deficit teenage, he now comes across as that bloke's older brother, albeit one raised on a diet of classy 1977/78 British punk rock and (surprising but thoroughly effective) '60s British folk. How strange but brilliant: a totally contemporary record that references not only Buzzcocks but Pentangle. Will someone please give this man a Brit Award next year? www.grahamcoxon.co.uk

Tony Clayton-Lea

THE MOST SERENE REPUBLIC Underwater Cinematographer Arts & Crafts/City Slang ***

Until The Most Serene Republic came along to pay their respects to that old Venetian city state, Toronto's Arts & Craft label was synonymous with Broken Social Scene and its myriad of offshoot bands. While the six-strong Republic aren't part of the crowded BSS/A&C Venn diagram, they do share some musical tenets with their fellow Canadians. A mild riot of fevered indie plucking and occasionally volatile noise-mongering, Underwater Cinematographer is an album that occasionally traces a masterpiece or two but, for the most part, is content to just hint at what could be. For every Content Was Always My Favourite Colour and Proposition 61, where a clatter of acoustic guitars and handclaps buck the trend for Death Cab/Postal Service cuteness, there's another track like (Oh) God, which is nothing more than the sum of its rehashed parts. While undoubtedly tuneful and atmospheric, The Most Serene Republic still lack that crucial something. www.themostserenerepublic.com

Jim Carroll

JOSH RITTER The Animal Years Independent ***

That Cameron Crowe is a fan (and cites him as an influence in making the dreadful Elizabethtown) shouldn't daunt Josh Ritter, but you get the impression that nothing knocks Ritter off kilter when it comes to music. The personal shifts to the political here with the epistolary lament Girl in the War and epic Thin Blue Flame, which captures Ritter's acuity as a lyricist and sounds like Milton singing an alt.country protest hymn. The literary allusions don't end there, with Mark Twain's Mississippi musings creeping in, and Ritter flicking between the silken whisper of Idaho and shades of Bruce Springsteen on Monster Ballads and Good Man. The album's title may reflect the massive effort Ritter puts in to writing and touring his folksy poetics, but this should be the record that finds him a whole new allegiance, and deservedly so. www.joshritter.com

Sinéad Gleeson

GIANT DRAG Hearts and Unicorns Kickball ****

If you're looking for some rarities from the Creation and 4AD labels, you could make an offer to Los Angelene duo Annie Hardy and Micah Calabrese. Their sound is so redolent of mid-to-late-'80s indie, they must have a few old Pixies, Throwing Muses, Mazzy Star and My Bloody Valentine records in their collection. But though Cordial Invitation blatantly invites comparisons with MBV's Isn't Anything, other songs (Kevin Is Gay, Pretty Little Neighbour, Blunt Picket Fence, High Friends in Places) view the rubbish heap of modern life through a distorted, shoegazing lens. Hardy sings, chain-smokes, plays guitar and bass, and writes the cruel, damaged-goods lyrics; Calabrese does drums, synths and guitars. The pair also seem to have a fascination with more mainstream music, viz the album's bonus track, a rocked-out cover of Chris Isaak's Wicked Game. Cool as Kim Deal. www.giantdrag.com

Kevin Courtney

TILLY AND THE WALL Wild Like Children Moshi Moshi ****

You won't find anyone named Tilly in this quirky quintet from Nebraska, but there is a tap dancer named Jamie whose feet provide the bulk of the band's rhythms in lieu of a conventional drummer. But before Michael Flatley asks her to audition for his latest show, he should know that this band don't trade in Celtic MOR, but do a line in exuberant, joyful, harmonic indie pop more suited to a gospel revue than Riverdance. The music also rivals Riverdance for sheer unselfconscious positivity, as singers Kianna and Neely, singer-guitarist Derek and keyboard player Nick let fly with the kind of innocent pop delight last seen when The Magic Numbers rolled into town. Reckless throws all emotional caution to the wind in its desire to save a battered soul, while You is a quixotic manifesto that promises "We will write all over your walls and we will dance to no music at all/We will do what it takes to get through to you". When they tap on your door, let 'em in. www.tillyandthewall.com

Kevin Courtney