Moby -- Hotel

Moby (above) has always been difficult to pigeonhole and on his new album he continues to defy categorisation.

Incorporating dance, ambience and guitar based pop on an album of songs about hotel.

Moby's voice can be quite monotonous and so it's quite a relief that he has seen fit to use the services of Laura Dawn on eight of the fourteen tracks.

These include a cover of New Order's Temptation which has no connection to hotels and raises the question as to why it's included at all. Disappointing cover version aside this is quite an accomplished album that won't disappoint.

Graham Scaife

The Alternative to Love -- Brendan Benson

In his second album, Brendan Benson makes an effort to write and record original songs which experiment with several different sounds. These include 1960s psychedelia, Bob Dylan and Crowded House.

Unfortunately for Mr Benson, it doesn't work.

None of the tracks are good enough to make it as a single.

The first few songs are bland and uninspiring public space music. The middle four or five songs are dark and depressing, but not in a good way.

The overall effect is soul destroying and listening to the album is an endurance event. The Alternative to Love? I wouldn't buy it for my worst enemy.

Fiona Allan

Human After All - Daft Punk

I hated this album. Four years after the incredible Discovery and the French duo have only been able to produce this flaccid follow up?

In four years all they seem to have discovered is a new synth sound which sounds uncannily like Donald Duck.

This is a boring, repetitive album which feels unfinished -- like they forgot to add a bass line to every single track.

The only highlight, if you can call it that, is Technologic which sounds a lot like Harder Better Faster Stronger -- everything that this album should be but isn't.

Daft is too nice a word to describe this lazy cop-out.

Gemma Berry