Only After Dark by Nick Rhodes and John Taylor

For decades, we have accepted the orthodoxy that 1976 was rock music's Year Zero; that the rise of the Sex Pistols was the defining moment in modern rock history; that punk rock is the musical and ethical measure against which every new band and movement must be compared.

But, clearly, this is bollocks. The first wave of punk bands had a brutal revolutionary energy, but, between them, the Pistols, The Damned and The Clash produced barely a handful of enduring tunes. The wider punk movement, meanwhile, lapsed into the selfparody of Generation X and Sham 69.

Loose by Nelly Furtado

Nelly's transition from pop moppet to genre hopping siren has not been instant. Her biggest hit may have been the Virgin Radio anthem I'm Like A Bird', but the rougher side of her has never been far from the surface. On 'Loose' she reunites with R&B uber-producer Timberlake (who she worked with on a bootleg mix of '..Bird' featuring Missy Elliott) and the result is a top post divorce album.
From the lusty, hypnotic Hall eats Oates rush of ‘Maneater’,to the ’80s pumper ‘Do It',  to the heartbreaking Chris Martin co-write ‘All Good Things’, this is a great album of urban pop song by a woman on the verge. As thrilling as Gwen, as badass as MIA.

Nightmare Of You by Nightmare of You

Knowing the past credentials of Long Island's Nightmare Of You (singer Brandon Reilly last rasped with punk rawk outfit The Movielife, drummer Sammy Siegler played drums in hardcore gods Glassjaw) it's bordering on the incredulous to hear the debut work of their new outfit. Like a pack of Dobermanns breaking into a ballet routine, or a battalion of ogres sharing tea and scones. it's something of a shock something thrillingly unlikely - to learn that the paring of their talents sounds not unlike Blur, Suede, even, in places, Shed Seven at their patchy, gonzo, guilty pleasure best. Consider ‘I Want To Be Buried In Your Backyard ’, or opener ‘The Days Go By Oh So Slow’, these are melodic, masterful songs with the jingle jangle spirit of mid '90s Britain infused at their very heart. Punk rockers do Britpop? Bloody rubbish tattoos, bloody marvellous songs.