SINGLES

JOE STRUMMER AND THE MESCALEROS: Yalla Yalla (Mercury) - The former Clash man is back, playing a whole new ball game, combining dancey keyboard sounds with a bluesy growled vocal and great drumming. This rolls along softly like The Orb or Spiritualized but also manages to invoke the best aspects of world music. (8/10) PB

CLINTON: Buttoned Down Disco (Hut) - A horn section which James Brown would be proud of provides the backbone of this medium-paced groove. A Latin-sounding woman whispers something about a disco and there's also a sound like the cooing from the start of kids' programme Pigeon Street. Interesting but rather lacking in direction. (6/10) PB

CAPRICE: Oh Yeah (Virgin) - Harmless throwaway pop, which is just as meaningless as you might expect. The superficial lyrics just about extend beyond the title's two words. I'd like to say she's not just a pretty face . . . but I can't. (3/10) PB

ALBUMS

GOMEZ: Liquid Skin (Hut) - Southport's finest exports continue where they left off with last year's superb debut album Bring It On. These unlikely-looking heroes play swampy blues while never falling into the traditional patterns of the genre. The dreamy We Haven't Turned Around, the howling blues of Blue Moon Rising and the raw energy of Bring It On all show their talent for penning unusual songs. The strength is in the way they play differing sounds off again each other, like the two lead vocals and the acoustic and electric guitars. The songs aren't as anarchic as those on the previous album but they're just as good. (9/10) PB

FEEDER: Yesterday Went Too Soon (Echo) - A riff-heavy second album which includes Insomnia and Day In Day Out, both of which made the charts. The title track mixes angst, energy and a string arrangement which gives way to crashing chords and a storming vocal. This is a competent effort which puts them ahead of the indie rock competition. (7/10) PB

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