BabyBird: "Candy Girl" (Echo)

It's gonna be tough to follow the runaway success of You're Gorgeous, BabyBird's catchy, slightly risque surprise hit, but Stephen Jones has a good old crack at it with such lascivious lines as "When you lick my candy, girl - and I don't mean that rude", and silly questions like "Are you Jesus without nails?" or "are you the Red Lion without ales?" The tune is a nice, jaunty affair with lots of tinkling keyboards, jangly guitars and jolly backing vocals; - not quite Gorgeous, but still quite tasty.

The Wonders: "That Thing You Do" (Play-Tone/Epic Soundtrack)

Tom Ranks directs and stars in this movie about a fictional group of one-hit wonders, and here's that one hit for your delectation. As the like Weezer, but they sound like your typical 1960s beatpop group with a little bit of Cast thrown in, and I guarantee you'll be sick of hearing that thing they do before you even take your first mouthful of popcorn.

Kenickie: "In Your Car" (EMIdisc/Premier)

Kenickie have a lot in common with the likes of Sleeper and Lush, and most of it revolves around boys and their laughable attempts to impress. In Your Car is a torrid tale about a lift from hell who tries to show our heroine a bit of heaven. You just know from those tough, Essex girl tones, however, that the poor sod with the car is going to get dumped just as soon as the lady reaches her neighbourhood.

Cyndi Lauper: "You Don't Know" (Epic)

The unusual girl is back at last, and that Hazel O'Connor-on-helium voice still has that girlie edge, but as the song builds in intensity, she sounds in danger of totally eclipsing Bonnie Tyler in the overkill department, and when she prances around in her new video, she looks like she's stuck in a jerky 1980s movement. A pleasant, nondescript attempt at resurgence from a lady out of time.

Eels: "Novocaine For The Soul" (Dreamworks Records)

This weirdcore trio from LA are wriggling their way into our heads with mixture of left field country-rock and lo-fi psychedelia. "Novocaine" has shades of Sparklehorse and Flaming Lips, and it with a scratchy, string- drenched intro over which singer E announces: "Life is hard, and so am I". Then the hook hits you like a slap in the face with a wet fish, and you just know you're going to be putting this slime-encrusted gem back on the deck over and over again. Soon, you too will be floating blissfully down the alleyway, just like in the video.

Mexican Pets: "Supermarket" (Blunt)

If there's any voice more grating than that of Pat McClafferty, then I'd like to borrow it for a particularly tough piece of cheese I found at the bottom of my fridge. Luckily, The Pets can match Pat's every rasp with some burning riffs and flesh-tearing licks. Add in a hook-laden tune in the best popcore vein, and you have nothing less than heavenly cacophony. The Pets' best single yet is taken from their forthcoming album, Humbucker.

Coade: "Give To Me" (Treasure Island Discs)

The boys who brought you the Britpop-tastic Too Young return with another mop-topped tune which Noel Gallagher would probably give his brown Rolls Royce to own, or at least to borrow. Give To Me ups the ante on the previous single, adding in flanged guitars and even some country-cowpunk licks, but the suspicion still remains that Beatley tunes are going a bit out of style.

The Diggers: "O.K. Alright" (Creation)

If you're wondering what Cast would have sounded like if they were starring in That Thing You Do, then look no further than Alan McGee's latest signings to his oasis of Britpop talent, the Creation label. These guys are so retro, they made Ocean Colour Scene sound like futuristic grindcore drum'n'bass. O.K. Alright is an OK ditty, hanging on a nice descending hook, but the second song, On The Line is Glen Campbell goes to Woodstock, while Holiday Inn is CSNY on a coach trip to Torquay. Get out of that hole in the mud you've dug yourselves into, guys, you dig?