This week's rock/pop releases reviewed

LADY GAGA

The Fame Monster Interscope ****

So, let's get this right: The Fame Monsteris a new album with Lady Gaga's The Famealbum, attached? Or is The Famerereleased with eight additional songs? Whatever the commercial marketing tricks, it has to said there's value for money here for people (like myself) who weren't too bowled over by The Fameuntil the likes of Just Dance, Poker Face, Paparazziand Eh Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)marched single file into the charts. The Fame Monsterhas no such drawbacks: this is top- drawer electro pop with the focus very much on the songs - which refer in various ways to Gaga's rise to stardom, and its somewhat less glitzy aspects - and not so much on Gaga's occasionally pretentious approach to her (conceptual) art. www.ladygaga.com TONY CLAYTON-LEA

Download tracks: Speechless, Alejandro

VARIOUS

Indiepop 09 Rough Trade ****

Week in and week out, the folks at the Rough Trade shops have watched customers leave happily clutching just-purchased indiepop records by Vivian Girls, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Cause Co-Motion!, Girls, and dozens of other C86-revivalists. Some might wonder if there ever really is a right time to revisit the work of The Shop Assistants and The Pastels, but the above acts and their peers have taken the spirit of those early sulky anoraks and set a new-ish fad in motion. Of course, indiepop is an elastic creed, which is why you have the fantastic spiky grooves of Dum Dum Girls and Cause Co-Motion! nestling beside wry, fey offerings from Los Campesinos and The Boy Least Likely To. Still, as the Manhattan Love Suicides show, you can never go wrong with squalls of feedback and a deadpan female vocalist. www.roughtrade.com  JIM CARROLL

Download tracks: Dum Dum Girls, Longhair; Girls, Morning Light

THE DUTCHESS AND THE DUKE

Sunset/Sunrise Hardly Art ***

Few songwriters can wallow quite like Jesse Lortz. The Duke wrote Sunset/Sunrise, the Seattle duo's allegedly "optimistic" second album, with the imminent birth of his first child in mind. Yet with such track titles as Let It Die, Never Had a Chanceand I Don't Feel Anything, Lortz's taste for the morose shows no signs of letting up. Whereas the harmonies of tour mates Fleet Foxes sound naturally uplifting, the nicely juxtaposed duets of The Dutchess and the Duke are mired in weariness - ideal for those who find the indulgent side of misery oddly satisfying. Sunset/ Sunriseis a heartfelt, briskly delivered album: squawking guitars zigzag through blue country dirges, regularly shifting pace to offset the uniform despair. Though the duo's narrow focus is stirring in places, it's not enough to keep the minor-chord momentum smouldering, Any hope of respite is gradually snuffed out. myspace.com/thedutchessandtheduke CIAN TRAYNOR

Download tracks: Hands, Scorpio, Sunrise/Sunset

RAIN MACHINE

Rain Machine Anti **

TV on the Radio's Kyp Malone is no stranger to multi-tasking. A longtime member of Iran (whose recent Dissolveralbum is well worth the investment), Malone now takes to the field as Rain Machine. However, those who fell under TVOTR's spell thanks to their Dear Sciencealbum may be a bit discombobulated by Malone's solo spin, which is bleak, challenging, introspective, dour and often angry. Malone doesn't parry any punches on this heavy-hitting bout of metal machine music. There are times when he does kick out the jams, and the results are energetic and sure-footed on the magnificent Give Bloodand the raging Smiling Black Faces. All too often, though, Malone comes down with the sonic and lyrical grumps. And, to be perfectly honest, no one really wants to listen to that kind of carry-on, no matter how arty it might happen to be. www.myspace.com/rainmachine music JIM CARROLL

Download track: Give Blood

ZOEY VAN GOEY

The Cage Was Unlocked All Along Chemikal Underground ***

A Canadian, an Irishman and an Englishwoman walk into a university and continue Glasgow's tradition of twee folk-pop bands. The punchline? There isn't one - you get the impression that poking fun at Zoey van Goey would result in tears before bedtime. The trio have already had their first single (and standout track) Foxtrot Vandals,produced by Belle & Sebastian's Stuart Murdoch, priming them nicely for a full-length effort with Paul Savage of The Delgados. Both bands are obvious reference points, as are pop acts with dual male/female vocalists like Deacon Blue and The Beautiful South. For all their good intentions and droll lyrics, though, Zoey van Goey are almost too nice for their own good. The result is a gentle album of folk-pop tunes that's pleasant, but inessential. www.zoeyvangoey.com LAUREN MURPHY

Download tracks: Foxtrot Vandals, Two White Ghosts

CONOR FURLONG

Playing With Fire Self-released **

Conor Furlong didn't wait for the recession to begin ploughing the DIY "bedroom band" furrow - the Dubliner has already released an album of experimental pop on his own steam. Recording a second album in a similar manner is admirable but, musically, Playing With Firenever really kindles. Most of these songs are in desperate need of editing, Furlong's voice seems at times too brittle to bulk out the waifish melodies, and there's a definite overkill of overwrought ballads that strain too desperately for the epic ( Burn, Atlantis). However, when Furlong tones down the angst, songs such as the gentle guitar ballad Enoughcome across as genuine rather than pretentious. And, with a bit of spit'n'polish, Are You Gonna Sleep Tonight?could work well on radio. Playing With Fireis undoubtedly sincere, but perhaps overly ambitious for one man. www.conorfurlong.com LAUREN MURPHY

Download track: Enough