The Magnificent Tree
Hooverphonic

Belgian popsters Hooverphonic seem to have fed their music through the de-flavourizing machine and have come out the other end sounding like a gothic Abba. They've flattened out the inventive sound of their last album and replaced it with these melodramatic power ballads loaded with pretty electronics and cinematic strings that glide along very nicely without quite soaring the way they used to. Thankfully there's still some of their old Eurotrash grandeur left to keep it drifting competely off into fluffy land, and an atmosphere of moody noir lurks around the album like Harry Lime in a darkened doorway. Lyrically they're either being deliberately surreal or just doing lots of drugs, I can't decide which: "he bumped into a mushroom that sold his body for some warm food." Come again? Very peculiar, those Belgians. Not exactly a Magnificent Tree, more like a nice lawn I think. Very neat but could use a few flowers.

Some Dusty
Birdie

Ever heard a new song that sounds so familiar it seems as if it always existed, one that gives you the same warm glow as that box of old 45s you keep in the closet and drag out whenever you're feeling a little wistful? Well, British duo Birdie have produced an entire album of such songs – a Lite Pop masterpiece that seems to tap into some collective pop subconscious we all share and evoke vague memories of the time when hearing a great b-side was about as transcendent as life got. Birdie's past includes stints with such Pop Gods as Dolly Mixtures and Saint Etienne so they know their onions when it comes to making simple, beautiful pop music. They make want to go back to school and scratch their name into the top of my desk. Bless their cotton socks. [Kindercore Records]

The Mirror Conspiracy
Thievery Corporation

Thievery Corp's records are so chic and immaculate I feel I should put on a Prada suit just to listen to them. They even make my stereo look ugly, and that chair will have to go. Like the bespoke suits they wear on the cover they make crisply-tailored music that is constructed with attention to the finest detail. These are men that wear cufflinks. They mix up an eclectic cocktail of Brazilian samba, Jamaican dub and Indian film soundtracks and pour it over some electronic ambient ice cubes to create a cinematic and elegant soundtrack perfect for those times when you want to sit back and kick off your Gucci loafers after a hard day shopping at Pottery Barn.

Things To Make And Do
Moloko

Sounding like they've crawled from the wreckage of a car crash involving James Brown, Ornette Coleman and Richard Wagner, Moloko throw out the pop blueprint and build their own house of fun. Dabbling in Funk, House, Pop, Jazz and Broadway Musicals – sometimes all at once – like mad scientists trying to put together a jigsaw puzzle without looking at the picture on the box. Lead singer Roisin Murphy stalks in and out of the songs like a deranged femme-fatale possessed by the spirits of Edith Piaf, Ethel Merman and Eartha Kitt. Quite simply, this lot are off their trolleys and their loopy approach could be an unholy mess but thankfully they never forget the immutable laws of pop music physics: hip-shaking beats and hummable tunes.