Sun never sets on new Empire

Empire of the Sun, Nick Lowe and Jon Byrne come under Andy Richardson's critical eye in this week's music reviews.

Alternative

Never judge a book - or, in this case, a CD - by its cover. That's the lesson to learn from this visually appalling but musically stunning release.

The Star Wars-style graphics mask one of the more innovative debuts of the year.

EOTS features Australian rocker Luke Steele, from The Sleepy Jackson, and dance guru Nick Littlemore, of Pnau.

ogether, they create great washes of polished, cinematic music that has more than a touch of the lilting Balearics. ****

Roots

This 49-track, career-spanning, two-CD set covers the British singer/songwriter's career from Peace Love And Understanding to his most recent CD, At My Age.

Thirty three and a third years separate the first and last tracks and chart a remarkable evolution.

From swinging, boogiemesiter to artisan songwriter, all bases are covered.

The early pub rock tunes now sound a little dated and he seems to have improved with age. ***

Punk

Jon Byrne: It's Boring Being In Control (Militant Entertainment)

Byrne is punk in spirit, if not in sound.

The singer/songwriter who looks like he's just walked out of a sixties Soho drinking den has more attitude and insurrectionary fire than a hall full of Socialist Worker sellers.

It's no surprise that he counts Billy Bragg, Pete Wylie and John Cooper Clarke among his fans, as he's cut from similar cloth.

He's a troubadour railing against the iniquities of the recession and social ills. ***