VARIOUS ARTISTS
The Ultimate Chick Flick Soundtrack
Warner
1 star
It’s hard to imagine a worse form of torture than being locked in a room with The Ultimate Chick Flick Soundtrack pummelling your ear drums. If you survive ‘Kiss From A Rose’ by Seal, ‘Sunday Morning’ by Maroon 5 and ‘Tainted Love’ by Soft Cell on disc one, you’ve got ‘Go West’ by The Kings of Wishful Thinking, ‘Pure Shores’ by All Saints, and ‘Up Where We Belong’ by Jennifer Warnes and Joe Cocker to look forward to on disc two. And just when you thought this compilation couldn’t possibly get any worse, the final track is ‘Suddenly I See’ by KT Tunstall. I really don’t think that, in this economic climate, we need any more excuses to slit our wrists – but here we are. If this sells well, I will officially lose all faith in the record-buying public.

BOB DYLAN
Together Through Life
Sony
3.5 stars
I listened to this while making home-made ravioli on Saturday night, and I fell into a trance. I think it was Dylan’s voice. It’s never sounded so deep, raspy and exhausted – almost like he’s been beaten and left for dead. But the mood is hard to identify. On tracks such as opener ‘Beyond Here Lies Nothin’’, ‘Life Is Hard’ and ‘This Dream of You’, Dylan assumes the role of lusty, melancholic crooner, but nevertheless with an overarching air of contentment or resolution. On others, like ‘Jolene’ and ‘It’s All Good’, he is almost jocular and flippant. In fact, ‘It’s All Good’, that careless catchphrase of the eternal optimist, is perhaps a fitting way for the album to end – because Together Through Life is a good, but certainly not great record. There is nothing particularly memorable about it, but listening to Dylan will always be a pleasure.

MICKY GREEN
White T-Shirt
Universal
2.5 stars
I initially thought I was going to like this record, against all the odds. I put the disc in, pressed play and was immediately seduced by the smooth, soulful pop and silky, seductive vocals of ‘Oh!’. But unfortunately, White T-Shirt quickly plateaus – and so did my interest. It’s not that it’s particularly formulaic – in fact I like that Green is playing around with different styles, vocal arrangements and song structures. It does have a fledgling baroque pop feel. But I think she needs to commit to this exploration more. It all seems a little half-arsed and limp-wristed – and therefore contrived – at the moment. Renaud Letang, who works a lot with Feist, is on production, but Green isn’t anywhere near as compelling as the Canadian ingénue yet. But this shows promise and she has some lovely pipes, so I’ll reserve my judgment for now.

DEPECHE MODE
Sounds of the Universe
EMI
4 stars
From opener ‘In Chains’, I was sold. The dark seven-minute romantic melodrama is wonderful in all its excessive, indulgent glory. Singer Dave Gahan has got a real knack for conveying desperate love in stark contrast to the band’s steely heart. In fact, the highlight tracks on Sounds of the Universe are those that express a similar human agony, like ‘Hole to Feed’ and ‘Come Back’. These New Wave survivors, despite being a little world-weary, haven’t lost their hold on angsty heartbreak. This sometimes goes a little too far perhaps – ‘Jezebel’ being exhibit A – but I can forgive a wound-too-tight love song if it’s done well. Moreover, Depeche Mode still effortlessly steamroll younger pop-rock acts who model themselves in their image. The Killers are one example – they just don’t have the convincing hard edge.