Fountains Of Wayne: Utopia Parkway (Atlantic)
Mercury Rev is fine for those long dark nights of the soul, but if you want to enjoy a nice, sunny afternoon of the brain, then just hop on Fountains Of Wayne's kaleidoscopic pop carousel, led by Chris Collingwood and Adam Schlesinger. Utopia Parkway side-steps the backroads of Americana in favour of the malls and main thoroughfares of suburbia; nevertheless, this second album shows a maturing songwriting style, which works best on the title track and the crushingly catchy Hat And Feet. There's lots of boyish charm on Red Dragon Tattoo, The Valley Of Malls and Laser Show, and a slight undercurrent of unease in Amity Gardens and A Fine Day For A Parade, the latter featuring Ron Sexsmith on backing vocals. The title of track 13 says it all: It Must Be Summer.
Kevin Courtney
Paddy Casey: Amen (So Be It) (Sony S2)
Folk blokes have had a hard time of it lately, watching their precious songs hit the bargain bins while their female counterparts shift millions of navel-gazing units. Paddy Casey is a 23-year-old ex-busker from Dublin, and his debut album is a modestly-pitched yet confidently-executed attempt to plant some musical shoots. Comparisons have been made with the Welsh singer David Gray, but Casey establishes some semblance of an identity in songs such as Everybody Wants and Whatever Gets You True, moving from the Leonard Cohen-style finger-picking of Sweet Suburban Sky to the drum loops and keyboards of Would U B. Casey has delivered a competent but unremarkable calling card - he may need a bit more time to do the business.
Kevin Courtney
Missy Misdemeanor Elliot: Da Real World (Elektra)
Missy Elliot is as superfly as the title of her debut album suggested, and Da Real World contains more than enough to suggest that the hardest-working woman in showbiz (from Gap adverts to collaborations with Scary Spice) still has what it takes. Beyond the extended Timbaland productions and the A-list collaborators (Eninem, Redman, MC Solaar, Destiny's Child, Lil Kim etc), there's Missy on the mic and that's quite something else. Railing at hip-hop players, ghetto superstars and boyfriends who stray offside, it's a mighty, confident trail of rhymes. For the full Missy effect, check Busta Rhyme, where Eninem and herself go hell for leather over hard-nosed beats, or the sheer energy of Dangerous Energy. Missy Elliot really is in a world of her own.
Jim Carroll