Nicole Scherzinger: 'Killer Love'

It may have stalled more times than our 1998 Ford KA, but after three years on blocks, Nicole Scherzinger's solo career is finally rolling. Given the singer's tendency to mic-hog during her Pussycat Dolls days, a solo LP has always seemed like an obvious and natural step, but truth be told, the words "GaGa" and "cast-offs" sprung to mind when we heard RedOne was overseeing the project. Nonetheless, has Scherzy managed to carve out her own sound on her debut?

The record's trailer singles 'Poison' and number one smash 'Don't Hold Your Breath' indicate a distinctly more pop - dare we say, Euro-dance - sound compared to her previous lacklustre R&B efforts, while the club-ready beats are a fair indication of the remainder of the record.

The highlights? Electro-pumper 'Killer Love', 'Only Girl In The World'-esque 'Wet' and 'Club Banger Nation' - a track that wouldn't sound out of place in a Berlin teknoclub. The subject matter ranges from sexual torture on the title track (oo-er!) to standing by your man on the Sting-assisted 'Power's Out', to, well, having a good old-fashioned knees-up.

Production-wise, it's an album of two halves. Much like the singles, the uptempos remain as glossy and textured as her perfectly tousled hair, but everything starts to flatline towards the back-end due to a case of too-many-ballads syndrome.

Future singles? Of the remaining 11 tracks, we'd say she's got four options: 'Killer Love', 'Right There', 'Wet' and 'Club Banger Nation' - although we'll admit to having a soft spot for 'Desperate' too.
Overall Killer Love is a sturdy debut from the part-time X Factor judge that, in part, lives up to her promise of being "in your face and strong". However, at 14 tracks the cohesion is lost the latter half, only made worse by a string of ballads that lack the personality and character oozing from the record's dancier moments. That said, there's enough here to ensure she won't be digging out for her former Dolls' phone numbers any time soon.

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Avril Lavigne: 'Goodbye Lullaby'

Much has been said about Avril Lavigne's fourth studio album Goodbye Lullaby - the four-year wait, the "cold" reception from her label, and her own admission that she wasn't exactly enthusiastic about its lead single, the bratty, bubblegummy 'What The Hell'. However, we were recently assured by the lady herself that the rest of the album is "raw, deeper and more emotional". So how does it shape up?

Easing us into proceedings is the intro 'Black Star' - a title that also happens to be the name of her perfume - and clocking in at 1m34s, it seems to serve as a rather shameless advertisement for it. "Be whatever you can be" she says wistfully, which, given the subject of track two - the trailer single - includes people who aspire to fool around with men and generally put it about - if that's not girl power folks then what, may we ask, is?

First impressions aside, what follows sounds a lot more plausible from the 26-year old divorcee. "I can be tough, I can be strong/ But with you it's not like that at all," she admits on 'Wish You Were Here'. The frank and unashamed honesty continues throughout the lion's share of the LP - from the simply titled 'I Love You' to the raw acoustics of 'Darlin''. In fact, 'What The Hell' appears to be the only 'gimmicky' song to have made the final cut.

Production-wise, Goodbye is another straight-up pop-rock affair. It's a formula that shows little progression from her 2002 debut, and as such starts to wane towards the back-end of the album, particularly on cuts 'Not Enough' and '4 Real'. That said, the strings, drums and acoustics remain slick, polished and thoughtfully assembled throughout.

Possible future singles? We'd put money on any of the following: 'Wish You Were Here', 'Smile', 'Stop Standing There' and 'Remember When' - though truth be told, we wouldn't cock a snook at eight of the album's 11 remaining tracks.

Avril may have taken the 'if it ain't broke...' approach to Goodbye Lullaby, but the result remains a solid collection of tunes that neatly ties together the sounds of her last three records: the angst of Let Go, the raw emotion of Under My Skin and the pop hooks of The Best Damn Thing are all seamlessly interwoven here. It might make for an album that breaks little ground stylistically, but continues to keep Avril at the forefront of the brat-pop movement.

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Britney Spears: 'Femme Fatale'

Let's be honest, Britney's last album Circus wasn't bad by your average artist's standards - 'Womanizer', 'Shattered Glass' and 'Unusual You' anyone? - but as a follow-up to the near-perfect Blackout, we don't mind telling you that we were left somewhat underwhelmed. Given that she's spent two-and-a-bit years working on a follow-up - one that she claims is built "for the clubs" and is her "edgiest and most mature sound yet" - we have a sneaking suspicion that the feeling was mutual. Question is, does Femme Fatale hit the mark?

The LP's two trailer singles have already raised the bar from what Circus offered us, having served up a pair of club-thumping stompers in the form of saucy 'n' seductive 'Hold It Against Me' and hi-NRG 'Till The World Ends'. Both helmed by producer-du-jour Dr Luke and longtime mixing buddy Max Martin, their dub-pop hybrid is both fresh yet undeniably 'Britney'.

Fortunately the LP's ten remaining tracks continue the trend, with the anthemic 'I Wanna Go', self-assured '(Drop Dead) Beautiful' and ballsy 'Gasoline' all tailor-made dancefloor choons; while the lyrics range from 'Inside Out's' blatantly slutty: "Baby shut your mouth and turn me inside out," to the supremely self-assured: "I wanna go down town where my posse's at/ Because I got nine lives like a kitty-cat" on 'How I Roll'.

Despite the album's well-worn producers and slightly obvious theme, the production is polished, intriguing and - best of all - fun. The dub-steppy 'Inside Out', the much-welcomed piano breakdown on the will.i.am-assisted 'Big Fat Bass' and the pagan-like flutes in closing track 'Criminal' all keep us guessing - albeit while feeling suitably pumped - for the full 65 minutes.

Future singles? She's spoilt for choice here, but if 'I Wanna Go', 'How I Roll' and 'Criminal' don't at least get a look-in, well, we'll be having strong words.

It may have taken four years to arrive, but Femme Fatale ultimately feels like the post-Blackout comeback we were waiting for, albeit with one important distinction: rather than feeling like we'd caught a worse-for-wear Britters at an underground, Red Stripe-soaked "party", this time we're joining her at an altogether classier venue, locking arms and ushering the barman for a round of raspberry Mojito's before throwing some serious shapes. Yes, she's teamed up with producers that her contemporaries are well-aquainted with, and the subject matter rarely shifts from the superficial, but what ultimately sets it apart is Spears's unrivaled ability to seduce us, which, given the album's title, is something she clearly knows all too well.

Bryan Ferry: 'Olympia'

When this year's most interesting X Factor contestant ambled up to the stage during 'Musical Heroes' week to sing John Lennon's 'Jealous Guy', it wasn't the late Beatle who immediately sprang to mind. Instead, it was Bryan Ferry, whose tribute cover with Roxy Music topped the chart in 1981. Aiden Grimshaw might have dismissed his own wobbling warbling as "a bit rubbish", but his over-the-top, tortured, artsy rendition bore the decades-old influence of Ferry, Eno, Bowie, Bolan and all those acts who wisely imparted the knowledge that sometimes more is more. Not in the sense of quantity, of course, as this is Ferry's first album of mainly-new material since Frantic way back in 2002.

As well as a fetching snap of Kate Moss on its cover, Olympia boasts eight Ferry-penned or co-penned tracks, a cover of Tim Buckley's 'Song To The Siren' and another of Traffic's 'No Face, No Name, No Number'. It also has input from Daves Stewart & Gilmour, Mani, Radiohead's Johnny Greenwood, Chic's Nile Rodgers, Red Hot Chili Peppers' Flea, Scissor Sisters, Brian Eno and Bryan's other Roxy bandmates. Despite the eclectic guest cast and long gestation period, Olympia is a coherent, solid record that is so much more modern, slick and stylish than we have any right to expect from a man entitled to a free bus pass.

'You Can Dance' is a perfect opener - all swooning broodiness, like Massive Attack and David Bowie in a gentlemanly duel. As with much of Olympia (and indeed classic Roxy), it manages the tricky feat of sounding distant and aloof yet somehow also incredibly engaging. Similarly, 'Alphaville' is all 21st century style and funk, the grooves dragging you up to its ivory tower for a shuffle. 'Me Oh My' layers on clean piano, twiddly guitar lines and Ferry's affected, strained croak to twist you this way and that. Its grandeur is possibly eclipsed by the nearly seven-minute 'Reason Or Rhyme', which envelopes you in waves and waves of sound until you completely lose yourself in it. Put slap-bang in the middle of the album, the brace of covers do stand out a little, but their glossy arrangements prevent them from breaking up the flow too much.

When it became clear that the Roxy Music reunion was to be a live-only affair, feelings were mixed. The legacy of many a beloved artist has been blotted by a substandard return to the studio. Some of those thoughts might well have lingered as Ferry announced his solo comeback. On the flip side, as artists get to a certain age - seemingly after their second album these days - everything they put out is eye-rollingly heralded or promoted as a "return to form". In the case of Olympia, though, it's hard to disagree.

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