Lenny Kravitz: "5" (Miss Bessie Music/Wigged Music)

This latest vision of Kravitz rock'n'roll heaven sees the unreconstructed rocker in ebullient form, and recovering some of the momentum he lost with Circus; a colourless album even by Kravitz standards. As usual, Lenny writes, arranges and performs everything on 5, going full gallop on songs such as Supersoulfighter, Black Velveteen and If You Can't Say No, and not burdening himself with too many extra passengers who might rein in his retro tendencies. Kravitz's knack for 1970s soul fits nicely with pop's current love affair with disco sounds and blaxploitation flicks, but the overall view is unrelentingly old-fashioned, and even his passing flirtation with hip-hop grooves only manages to bring 5 within shouting distance of rock'n'roll relevance.

Chantal Kreviazuk: "Under These Rocks And Stones" (Epic)

Another attack from a vengeful woman? I'm afraid so. At least that's how this album kicks off, with the song God Made Me directed at some poor sod who seems to have irritated our Chantal. Maybe the same guy she savages in Co-Dependent by saying "when I go swimming in your intellect/The water's so shallow". Nice put-down. Then again, happily, the woman can play more than one note, in terms of subject matter, and seems to take on even God in Disagree. Most interesting of all is the fact that she eschews the more traditional singer-songwriter guitar base and clearly composes from, and plays, a variety of keyboard instruments. The classical piano lines add a curve to the otherwise acerbic lyrics, as do the string arrangements. A worthy rather than essential album. And, no, I don't know how to pronounce the surname. Joe Jackson

Billy Myers: "Growing Pains" (Universal) The best thing about this album is the voice of Billie Myers, an edgy, confrontational but darkly sensuous instrument. Equally impressive are her witty, slightly left-of-field lyrics, lines such as "In the space of a five-hour time difference/ My imagination has run a marathon of thought". And, yes, she does manage to sing that potentially prosaic line, with the necessary lilt, in the hit single Kiss The Rain. If you like the single, you'll love the album, despite the frequently plodding, predictable and synthetic production work by Desmond Child. Strongest song is Please Don't Shout which presents the woman as "barely breathing/ Defenceless" and sucking her thumb "under the covers" but, one suspects, coiled more like a tiger than a child.

Joe Jackson