Neil Finn: "Try Whistling This" (Parlophone)

Having brought the shutters down on Crowded House, Neil Finn is now free to follow his muse wherever it takes him, and on his first solo album, the singer-songwriter has bounced between the open spaces of New Zealand and the bustling streets of New York. The music, however, seems to have landed in some netherland between twee and tough, and songs like Souvenir and Loose Tongue fall short of delivering Finn's famous killer hook. There's no shortage of melody and lyrical wordplay, and Finn's songcraft is as keen as ever, but these elements don't combine quite as compellingly as before. Standout tracks like She Will Have Her Way and Last One Standing are persuasive reminders of Finn's hit-making talent, but songs like King Tide and Try Whistling This bring the mood up close and personal, eschewing the easy commercial route in a search for a deeper, somewhat elusive meaning.

Kevin CourtneyVan Morrison: "The Philosopher's Stone" (Polydor)

Van is "the man", the elder, the ancient, the high priest of Irish pop, particularly in a spiritual sense. Even his weakest albums contain songs that are so transcendent and true they shame the relatively infantile meanderings of most of his peers. Sadly, this collection contains mostly his own meanderings, songs from 1971-1988 which, let's face it, never were considered worthy of release in the first place. Not surprisingly, Wonderful Remark is prosaic, Ordinary People is politically offensive and out-takes such as Real Gone are, well, just out-takes. Even so songs like Contemplation Rose ripple with magic, as does The Street Only Knew Your Name, which is probably worth the price of the album. But overall this is Van Morrison for completists.

Joe Jackson

Pelvis: "Who Are You Today?" (Setanta)

This Dublin three-piece grabbed some attention when they won last year's Heineken Green Energy Band Challenge, and their debut album proves them worthy of the prize. With many Irish bands trying to sound either like The Verve or Hootie and The Blowfish, Pelvis come across as refreshingly individual, and songs like Hang My Hat, I Am The Supergrass and Streetlight show a brash inventiveness rarely heard in most of Dublin's coat-tail-grabbing copyists. Johnny Rowen's high-register voice balances neatly between sombre and snarling, and the sharp, tightly-wound playing of Rowen, Ed Reynolds and Mick Goss are redolent of a youthful Jam or Police. 15 Seconds Of Fame and Driver To The Stars are musings on the nature of stardom, suggesting that Pelvis are under no illusions about this fickle game of rock 'n' roll. I'll give them at least half an hour.

Kevin Courtney