Latest CD releases reviewed.

THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS
The Boxer Virgin
***

It's OK: Tom and Ed haven't been reduced to remixing Simon & Garfunkel golden oldies. Here's a punchy tune featuring their old sparring partner Tim Burgess from The Charlatans - definitely wins on points.

LIESELLE
The Zing EP LMC
**

She looks a bit like Nico, but Dubliner Lieselle McMahon is more into Blondie, Björk and Goldfrapp,. A real do-it-yourself diva, she's put out this EP on her own bat. The tunes have some zing but not quite the schwing.

REPUBLIC OF LOOSE
Comeback Girl Loaded Dice
***

The Loose are back and blacker than ever. Mick Pyro raps like Jay-Z with a J-1, then howls like Prince under a cherry moon. They're so fly, I can't believe they're Irish guys.

MICHAEL KNIGHT
Foals Villain Records
***

My Lovely Horse? Not with that nasty cartoon cover, featuring a lickle foal about to out to be sent off to the meat factory. This Dublin trio (named after David Hasselhoff's car-driving crime-fighter) deliver a cruel but catchy indie anthem.

DADDY YANKEE
Gasolina Machete
**

Is the world ready for reggaeton? You bet your bottom peseta. The Puerto Rican pop craze has swept Latin America, and in five minutes' time will spread like wildfire through Europe's clubs. Might as well get tanked up and join in.

REM
Wanderlust Warner Bros
**

Stipe, Buck and Mills rarely deliver the goods these days, but you can always be sure that somewhere in each album lurks a classic single. Sadly, this one, from Around the Sun, isn't it.