Rock/pop

The latest releases reviewed.

THE PRODIGY

Invaders Must Die Take Me to the Hospital**

The oldest ravers in town may be outnumbered, outgunned and outdated, but they're not about to go gently into that good night. Instead, the Prodge have noisily invoked the sleeping spirit of rave, and hope to resurrect that outta space vibe that made them the loudest, proudest pyromaniacs on the block. Shouty vocalists Keith Flint and Maxim are back on active duty, and they stomp all over Liam Howlett's old-school tweaks and beats like a pair of old bulls let loose in a crowded field. The title track has a pleasing kick to it, but is somewhat cancelled out by the cheesy keyboard melody. Omen, the first single, finds Flint in suitably demonic form, and if Worlds on Firedoesn't quite relight the fire of old, at least it'll get the lagered-up posse working up a burning sweat. Run With the Wolvesfeatures thundering drums from Dave Grohl, which only heightens the back-to-the-'90s vibe. www.theprodigy.com

KEVIN COURTNEY

Download tracks: The Omen, Colours, Worlds on Fire

MARIANNE FAITHFULL

Easy Come Easy Go Dramatico***

By this stage, Marianne Faithfull has been around so many blocks she knows the geography inside out. From pretty ingenue to haggard addict, from cancer survivor to doyenne of the demi-monde, Faithfull has the demeanour of a been there/seen that veteran. Reputation as much as status affords her a level of respect from younger musicians, and so it is on her 22nd album that Faithfull is surrounded by artists of the calibre of Nick Cave, Jarvis Cocker, Rufus Wainwright, Antony Hegarty and Cat Power. Faithfull puts her vocal trademarks of experience and ennui to good use across a range of styles that don't always suit her. That said, over a double CD collection of 18 songs (all of them covers), more hit the mark than not. Highlights include singular renditions of material from Black Rebel Motorcycle Club ( Salvation), Dolly Parton ( Down from Dover), The Decemberists ( Crane Wife 3) and Brian Eno ( How Many Worlds).

[ www.mariannefaithfull.org.uk ]

TONY CLAYTON-LEA

SAINT ETIENNE

London Conversations Heavenly***

You know the catalogue pimps are in control when a band have umpteen different Best Ofcollections to their credit. We've been here before with Saint Etienne ( Too Young to Dieand Smash the Systemalso span the trio's career), so London Conversationsis almost superfluous. Still, it's a reminder of the potency with which songwriters Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs rethought classic 1960s pop and swinging London idioms. The group enjoyed a spell in the limelight in the early 1990s, but the mid-decade ascent of Britpop did not help their cause, with audiences spurning their clever lyrics, classic melodies and club-friendly beats in favour of such lumpen revivalists as Oasis. But that didn't hinder them - Saint Etienne stlll know to keep the pop flame lit, as Xenomania- produced new tracks Burnt Out Carand This Is Tomorrowshow.

[ www.saintetienne.com ]

JIM CARROLL

Download tracks: Nothing Can Stop Us Now, Burnt Out Car, Kiss Make Up

FIRST AID KIT

Drunken Trees Wichita****

Inspired by Bright Eyes' First Day of My Life, Swedish teenage sisters Klara and Johanna Söderberg bought instruments and began to play. The result was touching alt.country, national renown and a contract with The Knife's Rapid Records. First Aid Kit are fluent in rootsy harmonies and vocally similar to Joanna Newsom, Their sweetness sleepily balances vulnerability (the beautiful Pervigiloand Tangerinepluck heartstrings) and well-written storytelling. Drunken Treesplays so naturally that it's a sound woven of hemp, uninterested in being revolutionary but opting, instead, for exploring a beloved genre with a quirky lightness of touch. With their cover of Fleet Foxes' Tiger Mountain Peasant Song(performed live in a forest) making waves on YouTube, this sincere young twosome are set to ride a deservedly large wave.

[ www.myspace.com/thisisfirstaidkit ]

DEANNA ORTIZ

Download Tracks: Little Moon, Tangerine, Pervigilo

LONEY DEAR

Dear John Polyvinyl Records***

Opening tracks can often be misleading. Airport Surroundings, the electronica-embellished first song on Loney Dear's fifth album, is a revelation compared with the Swedish songwriter's usual sparse material. Yet apart from a handful of similarly enhanced numbers (such as the Simon Garfunkel do Café del Mar synth explosion of Under a Silent Sea), Dear Johnis a customary folk album, with its emphasis on Emil Svanängen's frail falsetto. At times his acoustic songs are too reliant on atmosphere and tension. But when he gets it right, he concocts a sweet recipe of Belle Sebastian-meets- Sigur Rós indie- pop beauty. Dear Johnis far from groundbreaking, but there are flashes of pluckiness that bode well for Loney Dear's future.

[ www.loneydear.com ]

LAUREN MURPHY

Download tracks: Summers, Airport Surroundings

THE MIGHTY STEFF

100 Midnights RMG Chart***

There's a glorious sneering quality to The Mighty Stef's debut. Stefan Murphy wears his acting credentials on his sleeve (with nods in the direction of Nick Cave and Johnny Cash), and it's precisely this posturing that's so refreshing in an era of over-emoting You're a Starwannabes. Truth is, the straight-up blues riffs of Golden Glovesare brightly reminiscent of Mick Jagger at his luscious lipcurling best. Cáit Ó Riordáin brings flighty vocals to Safe at Home. However, it's Murphy's nicotine-soaked duet with Shane MacGowan's stumbling vocals (and Philip Donnelly's forbidding electric guitar) on a cover of Townes Van Zandt's Waitin' Round to Diethat sums up The Mighty Stef: a mess of swaggering braggadocio. Exactly what we need in these dark times.

[ www.myspace.com/themightystefband ]

Download tracks: A Pretend Sailors Goodbye, 100 Midnights

THE SUBS

Subculture Lekroluy**

Belgian duo Jereon de Pessemier and Wiebe Loccufier started The Subs in order to release the tongue- in-cheek single Kiss My Trance. However, no one told them that repeating that song's use of trashy, noisy guitars and distorted electronic riffs over and over again would make the joke wear thin. Unfortunately, they've decided to follow this logic on their debut album, which features a number of trashy, trancey and ultimately pointless dance-rock tracks. Although they deliver an entertaining cover of The Prodigy's Breatheand an epic soundtrack with Albatross, the screeching electro house of My Punkand lo-fi guitars and detuned wailing on Music Is the New Religionwould try the most open-minded listener's patience. My Bloody Valentine and The Jesus Mary Chain have shown that, in the right hands, noise can sound inspirational. As Subcultureshows, usually it just annoys.

RICHARD BROPHY

Download tracks: Albatross, Breathe, Kiss My Trance