New album releases

WHEN THEY formed five years ago , Cornershop's ramshackle songs, built on shouty vocals and bric-a-brac noise, seemed destined to keep them underground. This third album shows how far the Anglo-Asian band has travelled since then. Its 14 tracks display a band consistently prepared to experiment, but the results never fail to engage. A masala of grooves touches base with funk, hip-hop , country and indie, all underpinned by mainman Tjinder Singh's maverick vision. Sitar and tablas fuse with drum machines, guitars and samplers, and there are guest spots for artists as diverse as late beat poet Allen Ginsberg, Tarnation's Paula Frazer and rapper Justin Warfield. Highlights include the irresistible single Brimful ofAsha, funky album opener Sleep on the Left Side and the sitar groove and Punjabi chant of We're In Vr Corner. Anglo-Asian music is now in full swing. - MP

ANOTHER NOISY act from the Creation label - home of Oasis — live, these guys sound exactly what they are — a couple of Creation boss Alan McGee's mates indulging in a spot of sing-a-longa-Gallagher . The attitude is chunky, spunky and macho; the lyrics load boasts arid grand statements set to all-too-recognisable guitar riffs. Sadly, the Oasis karaoke machine seems to be on go - slow , and on this, their debut album, Hurricane #1 are trying out their own squibbles. Andy Bell, the ex-Ride guitarist, singer Alex Lowe and the two androids on drums and bass plod their way through a collection of melody - free dirges, and the only respite from the baggy drumbeat and Noel-U-like big guitars comes on Sfep Into My World , the current single, which positively "shee-ines" out, as Liam might say. Here, Lowe's vocals take on a Neil Young quality that triumphs against the odds. But it's a rare moment of pleasure. - AO'C