Bugged

Babybird mainman Stephen Jones is a frustratingly uneven talent - his tendency to irritate is redeemed only by the occasional stroke of genius. The band's 1996 hit, 'You're Gorgeous', an unselfconsciously endearing slice of pop, brightened up the chart landscape in the midst of the Brit-pop wars. The album that followed in its wake, Ugly Beautiful, showcased Jones at his accessible best, but since then he's taken to writing novels and working on soundtracks to the overall detriment of his outfit.

Bugged, the follow-up to '98's hardly earth shattering There's Something Going On, confirms the band's penchant for imposing what sound like half-completed demos and studio doodlings on a surely wavering fan-base. The album opens with the recent single 'The F-Word', a Moby-ish chant built on a schoolyard rhyme which bears up to repeated listening. 'Eyes In The Back of My Head' is clever in a Black Grape meets Eels kind of way, while 'Fireflies' is an atmospheric, slow-burner with a Bowie-esque vocal line.

But this is a band that just can't stay away from the studio effects rack and several of the songs here suffer from unnecessary gimmickry.

The nadir is reached on the closing track, the aptly named 'One Dead Groove', a stodgy dirge which is underpinned by a rhythm resembling gravel being shovelled into a wheelbarrow!

Oh and there's a hidden track - if you can be bothered waiting the five minutes to get to it.