Music: NEW ALBUMS.

CYNDI LAUPER

At Last HHH 

The girl who just wanted to have fun was always one of the most gifted vocalists of her generation, and here the New York lady gets the respectable setting she deserves. There are covers of Dionne Warwick, Maurice Williams, a duet with Tony Bennett and a jaw-dropping recreation of The Animals' classic We Gotta Get Out Of This Place.

VIC THRILL

CE 5 HHH

Way back in the '80s, New York label Ze pioneered a funk-punk style known as Mutant Disco. Now, Mr Thrills - described as "Fred Astaire on crack" - has put on his plutonium dancing shoes, taken up the Mutant baton and crafted a totally insane rampage of snarling nastiness and euphoric electronica. It's ragged, but full of wiry energy.

THE ROYAL DAVE GRANEY SHOW

The Brother Who Lived HHHH

Graney has flourished back in his native Melbourne after a spell with art-goth rockers The Moodist in '80s London. He's a sleazy cabaret artist with a neat line in '60s romance, hard-driving cowboy ballads and mind- sizzling poetry. There's stark beauty and spry humour amid his perfectly sculpted, darkly sinister style.