The latest releases reviewed

The Libertines Time for Heroes - the Best of The Libertines Rough Trade *****

Pete Doherty's old band had it all - drugs, dissolution, decadence and dirty punk tunes - and in Doherty and Carl Barat they had their own low-rent Lennon & McCartney.

It all fell apart when Pete and Carl fell out over the former's drug-taking, but before it all crashed and burned, the band left two albums and a few singles worth of brilliantly sloppy rock'n'roll, and a handful of songs that can stand with the best punk anthems of any era: Up The Bracket, What A Waster, Don't Look Back Into The Sun, Time for Heroes and Can't Stand Me Now.

This 13-song collection include live favourites and b-sides, and closes with the poignantly punch-drunk What Became of the Likely Lads. Pete and Carl's current bands, Babyshambles and Dirty Pretty Things, aren't half bad, but let's face it, there's a spark missing. The spark's all here - and it makes for a beautiful burn-out. Kevin Courtney

Download tracks: What a Waster; Up the Bracket; Can't Stand Me Now

Westlife Back Home Syco/SonyBMG *

Bring out the high stools - the snoresome foursome are back with their ninth album, just 12 months after their last album beat U2, Oasis and The Beatles to the Number One slot. Westlife have decided to "step into 2007" and brought in a new bunch of songwriters, but fear not - the lads haven't gone emo.

This new album is, says one of them, "very Westlife", so expect another safe, snug collection of schmaltzy love songs and easy-listening ballads, with one or two uptempo numbers thrown in just to relieve the sore bums the lads must get from sitting on those stools.

The only clues to an upgrade are the cheesy electro bits on Pictures in My Head, and the stabbing dance beat of The Easy Way; otherwise it's bland business as usual, and no doubt this one will do big business.

Having had the field to themselves for yonks, Westlife now find themselves competing with a reformed Take That, and this collection will leave you in no doubt which is the superior manband. Clue: it's not Westlife. www.westlife.com  Kevin Courtney

CANE 141 Lost at Sea Secret Records ****

Over the past 10-odd years, Galway-based Cane 141 - effectively the dabblings of Michael Smalle, who is occasionally aided and abetted by like-minded musicians - have operated not so much under the radar as off the screen.

Created specifically as a sonic accompaniment to a visual art installation (by Galway artist Roisin Coyle) for Project 06, the best compliment one can offer here is that this works very much as a stand-alone piece.

The theme (and I could be adrift here) is the sheer vastness of oceans and why/how humans are, comparatively speaking, utterly insignificant. The coup de grace - which anchors the listening experience - is the use of former Royal Navy officer, Commander Bill King, who tells salutary and salty sea stories as the music ebbs and flows around his words.

The best record of its type this year? Aye, aye, Cap'n. www.cane141.com Tony Clayton-Lea

The Killers Sawdust (B-sides and Rarities) Island ***

Never have a band from Las Vegas sounded so British, but the point about The Killers is that they don't take their Anglo references from the predictable sources alone. They show that here on this rarities album with covers of songs by both Joy Division (Shadowplay) and Dire Straits (Romeo and Juliet).

Given that they're just two albums in, this may seem a bit early for such a compilation, but some of the overlooked b-sides here, notably All The Pretty Faces, are songs some bands would have no difficulty making an A-side.

What makes this album, though, are the cover versions - and while the Joy Division one is pretty weak, their version of Kenny Rogers' Ruby, Don't Bring Your Love To Town really excels.

There's also a brand new track here - Tranquilize, which is a duet with Lou Reed that works surprisingly well. www.thekillersmusic.com  Brian Boyd

Download tracks: All The Pretty Faces; Tranquilize

Sigur Ros Hvarf - Heim EMI ****

Iceland's favourite sons have made a career out of duality: beloved of both hipster critics and their country's president; the acme of post-rock indie, while being respected composers; purveyors of wilfully obscure semantics which haven't put ad makers off using their work repeatedly.

So it's about time, 10 years into their career, that they've put out a double album, and not just any old effort. Hvarf ("disappeared") and Heim ("home") consists of separate works, with two covers.

Hvarf is five rare unreleased studio tracks, while Heim constitutes live unplugged versions of back-catalogue classics. Released to coincide with their film Heima, the doubling continues with new versus old, electric versus acoustic.

Every song has its own power, be it raging instrumentation or introspective tinkling, but I Ger and Hafsól on Hvarf are magnificent, while Starálflur has never sounded as heartbreaking. www.sigur-ros.co.uk  Sinead Gleeson

Download tracks: Salka; Hafsól; Starálfur (Live)