Latest Rock/Pop CDs reviewed

COLDPLAY

Prospekt's March

EMI ***

The Coldplay machine marches ever onwards. Just in case you reckoned they couldn't shift any more copies of their multi-million-selling Viva la Vida, here is a brand new, eighttrack mini-album that, as well as being packaged with a new deluxe edition of Viva la Vida, will be sold separately. It's yet another astute marketing ploy but, like most of Coldplay's creative work ethic, it stands up to scrutiny. If you're not a fan, then of course you'll give it a miss; if you are then you're in luck, as Prospekt's Marchacts as a perfectly respectable addition to the Coldplay canon. Six new songs of similar (if familiar) quality are on offer, as well as new versions of two Viva la Vida tracks: Lovers in Japan(a remix) and Lost+ (which features rapper Jay-Z). Reinventingthe wheel? Not Coldplay. They just make sure it goes round without any bumps. www.coldplay.com TONY CLAYTON-LEA

Download tracks: Postcards from Far Away, Lost+, Now My Feet Won't Touch the Ground

LITTLE JOY

Little Joy

Rough Trade ****

While the world waits for The Strokes to swagger back into the album-releasing game, band members continue to crack on with solo projects. We've had Albert Hammond jnr's likable solo albums, Julian Casablanca's singing for his supper for Converse runners, and bassist Nikolai Fraiture's venture with Regina Spektor and a Yeah Yeah Yeah. With the Little Joy project, drummer Fabrizio Moretti joins the list. Little Joy took shape in Los Angeles whereMoretti, Rodrigo Amarante from Brazilian indie band Los Hermanos and Moretti's girlfriend Binki Shapiro came together to make music that is mostly about creating a sweet, sultry, laidback vibe. This sunnysideup album is a hazy, carefree and breezy, with classic West Coast folk-pop sensibilities running right through such tracks as Keep Me in Mind. A swell outing. www.myspace. com/littlejoymusic JIM CARROLL

Download tracks: Keep Me in Mind, Evaporar

MURCOF

The Versailles Sessions

Leaf ****

Here's something different for those who like their electronica infused with a certain 17th-century je ne sais quoi. Last year Fernando Corona was commissioned to write a site-specific suite of music for Les Grandes Eaux Nocturnes, a sound, light and water festival at Versailles. The Mexican gathered a group of musicians and a mezzo soprano to perform baroque pieces using only period instruments (harpsichord, viola de gamba, violin, etc). Corona then processed samples of the recordings, most notable on the aptly titled Louis XIV's Demonsand the stunning Spring in the Artificial Gardens, allowing them space to suit the performance environs of Versailles' Jardin du Roi. This won't be to everyone's taste, but even within the constraints of such a project, Corona manages to stamp his own unique blend of ambient minimalism and dense melody on the resulting work. www.murcof.com BRIAN KEANE

JESSE MALIN

Mercury Retrograde - Live in New York City

One Little Indian ***

For some musicians and singersongwriters, greater success means a diminishing rapport between artist and audience. Jesse Malin, a US singer-songwriter of a rugged rock/roots persuasion, is one for whom the live show is ostensibly a channel between art and commerce. For his debut live album, Malin runs through his short back catalogue in a terse and rowdy manner; an acoustic guitar is used and abused as he rips through Wendy, Hotel Columbia, Cigarettes and Violetsand some robust if frayed cover versions (Neil Young's Helpless, The Pogues' Fairytale of New York). All told, Malin comes across as someone you'd prefer to have on your side in a ruckus and, as live albums go, Mercury Retrogradeis high-quality sonic fibre. Strike one up for him when he plays in Dublin's Whelan's on December 13th. www.jessemalin.com TONY CLAYTON-LEA

Download tracks: Wendy, Cigarettes and Violets, Helpless