Streets, The

Mike Skinner as the Streets manages to make records from the comfort of his own basement. It's pretty amazing to think how affective his music is when you consider how it is developed. He is in a category of his own. His mumbled rhymes are hardly mainstream rap but his lyrics are so simple and concern such universal themes that you can't help but listen. To back his words up with his gorgeous productions only adds to the man's, dare I say it, genius.

His first album, 'Original Pirate Material' is still probably his best. It captures his world weary sense of humour better than any of his later stuff, especially on the hilarious 'The Irony of it All'. Listening to it now what surprises most is the very, very pro-drug stance that he didn't ever approach again.

His second album was his breakthrough to the mainstream. A place he never really seemed comfortable. It's pretty clear that he was aiming for the pop charts though. 'Fit but you know it' and 'Dry Your Eyes' were destined to climb singles charts. But it's still a very rewarding listen. It is one of the few 'concept' albums that tells a story but doesn't forget to fill the record with good tracks.

The Streets took a major step back with their next release. 'The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living' is a terribly angry piece of work. It's hard to feel any sympathy towards Skinner when he's angry about how tough life is as a celebrity. It's a rotten album. There's a sense that he's not really trying. The only diamond in this coal pit is 'Never Went to Church'.

After this turgid direction, it was a relief to hear 'Everything is Borrowed', the follow up. It proved that the last record was something Skinner needed to get out of his system but that his wit and sampling skills are certainly not run dry yet. It never reaches the heights of his first two records, but it's a fine album. It's underrated. It also reconfirms Skinner's talent as one that should continue.

Kanye West

Kanye West arrived onto the recording scene with the College Dropout. This was after a number of years of being the go-to producer for the hip/hop scene's biggest names. It was going to be interesting to see if West had as much to say as he did in the sampling studios. He did. It was an incredibly popular debut. Funny at times, the album saved its best material for its more serious tracks. 'Jesus Walks' and 'Through the Wire' are the best examples of West's confident style.

Continuing from where the first album left off, 'Late Registration' was a brash, arrogant follow up. Its singles are stronger than the first record, 'Touch the Sky' and 'Gold-digger' are swaggeringly good summer tunes. The album did show that West isn't as interesting as he first seemed though as his bling-obsessed lyrics became tiresome.

Graduation was a return to form of sorts. It showcased nothing new but West's use of a sample was as good as ever - 'Stronger' is a great floor filler. 'Drunk and Hot Girls' suggested that West was become as misogynistic as the rappers he had laughed off in earlier records.

None of the previous records could have prepared anyone for the calamity that was 808s and Heartbreak. It's an inherently bleak rap record. A testament to West's misfortune in relationships. As West doesn't possess a singing voice he uses a piece of studio equipment to enhance his voice. It's a monumental disaster and needs to be swiftly followed up with a return to what West does best.

Glasvegas

Sounding an awful lot like The Killers if they had impenetrable Scotch accents, Glasvegas' self titled debut is a pulsating collection of anthem rock tracks of the slow build variety. It gets no points for originality but if you like this sort of thing, and I do, then it is an excellent first outing.

Santogold

Taking up the baton that M.I.A. has left with her eclectic mix of dance, reggae and rap, Santogold is a collaboration between Santi White and John Hill that has come up with some great floor fillers. It really can't be overstated how exciting this music is to listen to. It's real party music.

The Ting-Tings

The Ting-Tings somehow bought what seemed to be every second of radio airplay for about a month in 2008. Talk about overplaying your singles. It was very easy to dislike them. And when their debut album, 'We Started Nothing', was released, oversaturation meant it was generally detested.

It's easy to see why. It's all jangly forgettable nonsense with a very derivative singer, all cockney accented up because it's fashionable. But it's hard to dismiss out of hand. It's simple. It's playful. It's genuine pop music. And we don't get to listen to too much of that these days.

White Lies

White Lies have come up with a strikingly unoriginal band name. And their record is similarly cloned from obvious influences like Joy Division. That's not to say 'To Lose My Life' isn't a solid start from the band. It is as good as anyone else is at recreating the sounds of the sombre early 80s working in the 2000s. They should have a bright future.

Franz Ferdinand

Franz Ferdinand burst onto the scene in 2004 with their self-titled debut. The record's brief was simple. Get girls to dance to rock music. And it worked. The songs are still big players today and Franz Ferdinand's campy style became something of an unfortunate trademark of the fashion conscious. There is no question that their first album is a brash success. Its energy is contagious.

Their follow up was released too quickly. By following the imprint of the first album, the record hinted that the group was a one-trick pony. There were good songs on 'You Could Have It So Much Better', some more than worthy of the first's starry heights but it felt like Franz Ferdinand were playing it safe. Only 'Elizabeth put your boots On', a ballad, shows that the band has more variety than they have yet expressed.

Their latest, Tonight, is a severe disappointment. It continues the vein of their previous work but it's got a cleaned up production that doesn't suit the group. There was always the danger that the group could veer into pretension and this album is it. A concept album is always a risky venture, often failing for its laughable overambition, but Franz Ferdinand's Tonight effort is just worryingly boring.