Patti Smith
Trampin'
(Columbia)

The godmother of punk's first album of new material for four years shows that she remains a tough campaigner, alternating between poetry and polemic. The music isn't up to the angular rock of her early albums, but sounds polished and mature; the opening number 'Jubilee', for instance, has a blues backing. But this isn't what you expect from Smith and, occasionally, 'polished' equals bland. There are a couple of epic songs including 'Gandhi' and 'Radio Baghdad', a trenchant criticism of US policy in Iraq, which clocks in at 12 minutes, about twice as long as you need to hear. The politics are laudable but the music often lacks passion.

Wiley
Treddin' on Thin Ice
(XL Recordings)

Wiley is the founder of the Roll Deep Crew, the east London garage collective that launched Dizzee Rascal's career. Wiley is the elder statesman, though his debut album is bound to inspire comparison with last year's Mercury winner. Compared to Rascal's unsettling rawness, Wiley's 'eski-beat' is high-gloss and his lyrics betray little of the vulnerability that made Rascal so interesting. The clattering beats and tough, sometimes wry, street vernacular suggest inner-city dislocation, but this is really a party anthem album. Great for clubbing and car stereos but unlikely to repay repeated listening.

Everlast
White Trash Beautiful
(Mercury )

In 1998, the former House of Pain rapper Everlast reinvented himself as a white, blue-collar bluesman which worked pretty well on his first attempt, Whitey Ford Sings the Blues. Six years on, the joke is wearing thin. Beck could mix bottleneck guitar with hip hop and look cool but Everlast can't. The result is MOR rootsy rock with a side order of bad rapping.

The songs, about trailer-trash folk, veer between crass and patronising: Everlast once threatened to be Emin-em's musical nemesis. Slim Shady can sleep easy now.

Polly Paulusma
Scissors in My Pocket
(One Little Indian)

So far, 2004 has been the year of the young, jazz-tinged MOR singer-songwriter. Paulusma doesn't do jazz-lite. Instead, Scissors in My Pocket is stripped-down folk-rock that allows her voice to take centre stage. Although Paulusma doesn't quite fit the mould of Katie Melua or Jamie Cullum, her debut album is delicate and whimsical and has, not surprisingly, found a home on Radio 2's playlist. The freeform arrangements evoke memories of Nick Drake and she sings with a sweet, Celtic lilt. But the album is like soft-focus photography: initially pleasing but scratch below and you find that there isn't really that much going on.

Various
Kill Bill Volume 2 OST
(WEA)

Once upon a time, Tarantino's soundtracks were almost as eagerly awaited as the films themselves. Unfortunately, both are devalued these days. Still, the Vol 1 soundtrack was a million-selling hit, so here's the sequel. The mood here is laidback and occasionally chilling. Johnny Cash's voice is so rich on 'A Satisfied Mind', that accompanying visuals would only detract from it, but Shivaree's 'Goodnight Moon' is a workmanlike attempt at Southern soul. Ennio Morricone pops up a couple of times to provide his trademark atmosphere, but much of the rest is so tasteful that you long for a blast of the dirty funk or raucous rock'n'roll that Tarantino used to supply.