The latest releases reviewed

KING CREOSOTE Bombshell Names/679 ****

The more you get into Kenny Anderson's songs of melancholic soul and unvarnished 3am meanderings, the more you may want to delve into the dozens of other King Creosote releases from the prolific Fife native. Regardless of what you might find in the back catalogue of KT Tunstall's one-time mentor, Bombshell is an album that delivers far more than it promises on first sight. There's a predominance of new-school folkies at the moment, all crooning with faraway wistful looks in their eyes, but Anderson's gnarly, grouchy schtick is different. Such songs as Cowardly Custard and You've No Clue, Do You are packed with pin- sharp puns and incendiary lyrical devices, all the better to snare listeners as they shimmy to get nearer the heat from his campfire. www.myspace.com/kingcreosote JIM CARROLL

Download tracks: Cowardly Custard, You've No Clue, Do You, Bombshell

A few years back, The Delgados album The Great Eastern was nominated by the goon judges of the Mercury Music Prize. But it wasn't enough to save the Scottish band from disintegration. At something of a loose end since the band split up in 2005, Emma Pollock - singer, guitarist and co-conspirator in the creation of the influential indie label Chemikal Underground - is clearly branching out from her former guise as a John Peel favourite. This, her debut solo album, is like Joni Mitchell raised on a diet of classy Britpop (1960s version) and modern chart tunes. It has über-smart pop songs such as Here Comes the Heartbreak, Adrenaline, The Acid Test and If the Silence Means That Much to You, while the subject matter touches on domestic violence, emotional divisions, anexoria and the end of friendship. Sweet and serious, cute and sober - the balance is nigh on perfect. www.emmapollock.com   TONY CLAYTON-LEA

Download tracks: Here Comes the Heartbreak, Adrenaline, The Acid Test

Milburn These Are the Facts Mercury ****

Milburn are mates with Arctic Monkeys and have enjoyed a little reflected glory from their fellow Sheffield band's enormous success while avoiding the glare of too-great expectation. With their second album, Milburn hope to surge ahead and establish their own identity. The four-piece are armed with some great tunes, including Cowboys and Indians, Summertime, Sinking Ships and the current single What Will You Do (When the Money Goes). They lean away from gritty social commentary and towards a retro knowingness, with lyrics that focus on the individual rather than the in-crowd. Lucy Lovemenot probably went out with Brianstorm, while Genius and the Tramp deals with a mardy bum of a different stripe. Rubicon is a haunting reflection on things you can't take back, while Come Away with Me points towards Milburn's mod roots. www.milburnmusic.com    KEVIN COURTNEY

Download tracks: What Will You Do (When the Money Goes), Summertime, Genius and the Tramp

MANU CHAO La Radiolina Because Records ***

Manu Chao is world music's most popular sabre-rattler, the multi- lingual superstar who's top of the backpacker charts thanks to a sound that mixes and matches every style

in the book. A gloriously uproarious live act, Chao on record can hit the bull'seye (1998's intoxicating Clandestino remains his most stirring calling card) or, as unfortunately happens here, misses the target by a mile. In places on La Radiolina, a rip-roaring 21-track spurt, Chao's ambitious restlessness and astute skill at sonic pairing leaves you reeling. Alas, there are far too many moments when audacious attempts at globalised pop just don't come

off and the oddly bland guitar reggae-rock which underpins his material comes to the fore like a rash. It's annoying because there are songs here (Rainin' in Paradize, the furious Panik Panik) where Chao is largely peerless. More of that next time out, please. www.manuchao.net  JIM CARROLL

Download tracks: Rainin' in Paradize, Panik Panik

VARIOUS Brazil 70 Soul Jazz ****

After the excitement of Brazil's Tropicalia years, 1970 represented something of a watershed as artists sought new directions for their sound by looking beyond their borders. The political situation, in which a heavy-handed military dictatorship sought to stamp out the opposition, wasn't very conducive to artists keen on experimentation, exploration and expression. But there were still many who wrote, performed and recorded despite the threat of official censure and censorship, and it's their work which the latest Soul Jazz compilation tracks. A book-end to the label's fantastic Tropicalia set, Brazil 70 is almost giddy in places. As ex-Os Mutantes singer Rita Lee, glam duo Secos & Molhados, the enigmatic Gilberto Gil and psychedelic explorer Raul Sexias absorb new sounds and influences, it makes for radical music from a radical time. www.souljazzrecords.co.uk JIM CARROLL

Download tracks: Secos & Molhados, Amor; Rita Lee, Corista de Rock