Southern Fly: (London)

Just what the world needs right now - another Kula Shaker. Southern Fly are described as a "multi-limbed psychedelic groove collective", which translates on CD as meandering, pseudo-trippy rock 'n' roll, a strangely familiar mix of pumping Hammond organ, "tasty" guitar licks and hyper-hypnotic rhythms. Think Happy Mondays with an Estuary accent, or Ocean Colour Scene without the uptight, anal, muso fixation. To be fair on Southern Fly, they do succeed in getting a few nice grooves together, especially on Maybe It's The Right Time, For Real and You Had It Coming, and sometimes they even cobble together a lyric which doesn't sound like it was written on the back of a Rizla. Prolonged exposure to Southern Fly's pungent whiff of retro, however, might cause silly grins.

- Kevin Courtney

Smog: Dongs Of Sevotion

Why do some people think that using a crap spoonerism as their album title is funny? Must be a form of dain bramage. Bill Callahan's latest opus is, once again, a twisted collection of folk tales, written from an inverted world view, and made with a mischievous disregard for rock 'n' roll convention. It's music for loners, losers and lounge lizards, failed Elvis impersonators and existential cowpokes, and Callahan's gruff vocals - Dr Millar's country cousin - scrape up the roadkill of the American dream with a deft sweep of language. From the fatalistic ballad, Dress Sexy At My Funeral, to the lulling, piano-drizzled Easily Led, Callahan brands his own individualism on every low-key tune, sometimes creating poignant, impressionistic views from within, but often dipping into dirgey enclosed spaces.

- Kevin Courtney

Various: Nu Yorica Roots (Soul Jazz)

Visit this neighbourhood once and you'll be hooked for good, as the Soul Jazz label sets out to do for Latin what their Dynamite series did for Jamaican ska. With house dons like Masters At Work and Joe Claussell mining Latin influences for their modern odysseys, it's a timely opportunity to visit the source. With their Puerto Rican, Cuban and New York backgrounds and influences, Nu-Yoricans like Tito Puente and Mongo Santamaria took elements of mambo and rumba to fire up a new sound where various Latin and jazz styles met, settled down and started a family. Add the likes of Eddie Palmieri and the mighty Ray Baretto and you have a scorching collection which simply whets the appetite for more.

- Jim Carroll