Reviews

A family of nomadic shepherds in the Gobi Desert assist the birth of a rare white camel colt, buts its mother rejects it. The Mongolians send envoys in search of a magical musician to make things right. So far, so Bambl. What raises this is the direction, which shows the nomad boys coveting miracles like batteries, TV and video games without patronising their time-honoured mores.

Whimsical Mexican comedy. With dope cakes

Carol Clerk, who covered Live Aid for Melody Maker, on the newly released DVD of the global rock spectacular

Stopgap from young singer-songwriter

Five-disc box set suggests King Of Pop is Sovereign Of Soul

Second LP from heavyweight hip hop producers' eccentric joint venture

After last year's disappointing Never Go Home, Brian Krumm's Illinois quartet seem to have rediscovered the last-gang-in-town swagger that made 2000's Damaged Goods such a riot. Guitars cranked up to 11, it's bulging roadhouse rock, with the added croak of Krumm's phlegmy Tom Waits-isms. But there's a leanness about these loser-through-a-shot-glass songs that suggests they've matured too, not least on the latter-day gunslinger ballad "November" and in the neon-splashed moodiness of "St Christopher Street".

Properly slack garage gear

Shane MacGowan's old running boyos in serious shindig

Frank Black Francis: the beginning and the end. One could treat these two dramatically different discs as bookends to Pixies history if the band hadn't just completed a triumphant reunion tour, while talk of a new album continues.