As some of you who care might know, i like dark music. Massive Attack, Ian Brown, etc. If you too like dark music, buy BRMC's first album. It's incredibly cool, dark and powerful, and the tunes are amazing too. After BRMC, which is one of my top ten albums of all time, I couldn't see them getting better, and to be honest, they didn't. Take them on... is a very good album, but it's different from BRMC. It's faster, more upbeat (kinda) and is for a different kind of mood. It's got some amazing riffs on it, if you like that kind of thing.

Finally, Howl is another big change. Gone is the distortion and heavy drums, in comes American, gospel etc. I don't even like that genre but I love this album. Plus they've got some amazing b-sides.

Finally, they are the ******** live. I saw them at the Astoria in London, and they played for three hours. The best gig I've ever been to, no question.

Excess is a red herring. Having downloaded it, I found that I couldn't stop playing it, but then I bought the album.

Whoops.

To be honest, it's a shocker. There are hardly any tunes, there's no atmosphere, there's no cool. Maybe I'm being harsh, cos it's not the kind of music I like that much, but still, I can tell a good and bad album apart, even in a genre I don't particularly love.

ONLY good track: Excess

I'm gonna get a lot of stick for this, but in my opinion Mez is much better than Blue Lines or Protection. That's just cos I like the dark music, and nothing too reggae-y, like MA's first two albums.

This, though, is amazing. Like Becoming X, the production and the mood that the album creates means that, despite the fact that it only has four four-star songs, you can listen to the whole album again and again. The three-star tunes aren't filler, and the four star-songs are amazing. Teardrop is one of my favourite songs of all time.

It's the kind of album that doesn't fit many moods, though. It's a good loner album, like BRMC and Psyence Fiction, but if you're feeling a bit more upeat, this album won't be up there on your playlist.

Best Songs: Teardrop, Angel, Man Next Door, Risingson

The most represented individual/band in my Top 25 ost played by a f*ckin country mile. If the Private Press, Endtroducing and Preemptive Strike areb't enough for you, he basically wrote the whole of Psyence Fiction by Unkle as well. Visionary, vision is scary etc.

Best toons: Midnight in a Perfect World, Fixed Income

Also see: Bonobo

Like I say, a bit of a weird one. It's not so differnet from Becoming X, but Chris Corner's vocals are so different from Kelli Dayton's that it gives the album a different feel. Production's not as good as becoming X, though. It's a bit... It's dark. It's angry. The prevalence of songs in non 4:4 is an indication, i think, that the Pimps are growing up. Whether this is better or worse, I don't know, but the album's a good'n, if you like that kind of thing.

Best tracks: Destroying Angel, Flowers and Silence, Lightning Field