KEY POINTS:
Dizzee Rascal's grime sound is less grimy on the lippy Londoner's third album.
While his abrasive beats and caustic vocal style on debut album Boy In Da Corner in 2003 and 2004's Showtime were well-received and innovative, they were annoying in big doses.
Put simply, Dizzee's new album, Maths + English, is his pop album.
That might sound like a sell-out for a pioneering beatfreak like this but there's still enough material here, like the circling intensity of Paranoid and opener World Outside, to challenge the head, rattle the ears and move those feet.
The big difference with Maths + English is that it flows more seamlessly.
Stylistically it is more diverse too, with the American hip-hop influence of Where Da G's that slopes along in gangsta style; the Britpop meets grime of Temptation (featuring the dreamy rant of Arctic Monkey Alex Turner); and the sweet summery drum'n'bass of Da Feelin'.
And the mangled riffs and cartilage rippling bass of first single Sirens has the staunch bite of old, but it's more hooky and inviting.
Dizzee has been touted as the shining light of British urban music - like Miss Dynamite before him - but his confrontational and erratic style of hip-hop, grime and drum'n'bass was too divisive for him to fit that bill.
Now though, the cocky Rascal can wear the crown proudly.
On to something more spatial. Dubstep - a minimal, dark, and dubbed-out variant of 2-step and UK garage - occupies a realm where space is the place.
From the Shadows is the debut solo album from Cyrus, a member of dour UK garage outfit Random Trio.
It's similar, though not as memorable, as last year's excellent self-titled album by dubstep extraordinaire, Burial. But Cyrus comes across a little too static for his own good.
Sometimes, like on Bounty, you're left waiting for the next beat to hit and even have time to think, 'Maybe that's the end of the song?'. But then, thwack, it hits again.
It's a small gripe but key when it comes to these slow-moving, yet propulsive albums.
However, in saying that, a song like Rasta From, with its slow-motion staccato and haunting conch call, makes From the Shadows a brooding grower with beats that quite often have a beautiful patience to them.
Similar to Cyrus, but on a more primitive and tribal tip, comes the double-disc beauty from Skull Disco, a record label headed by dub outlaws Shackleton and Appleblim.
The first disc is a collection of tracks from the label's back catalogue that were released on vinyl, including six from Shackelton, four from Appleblim, and one from Gatekeeper.
The second is made up of unreleased and non-Skull Disco tracks, the highlight being an eerie 18-minute remix of Shackleton's Blood On My Hands.
Apart from Gatekeeper's throbbing Tomb, this really is a joint Shackleton and Appleblim album and it makes for an intriguing listen because their styles are quite different.
Shackleton's songs are mostly driven by sharp percussive beats, be it the clatter of Majestic Visions, the clean taps of I Am Animal, or the sparse tribal pulse of Tinfoil Sky. Meanwhile, Appleblim is more often than not preoccupied with rupturing basslines, fractured beats and soundscapes, like on Fear and the steely and stealth Girder.
The thing they do have in common is how all these tracks sound like they've been conjured up in the jungle yet - and this is why it's so good - it's entirely futuristic music.
For some completely different beats there's nothing like a good boogie on the dark side of town with Blackstrobe. The music of the French dance-rock collective owes as much to banging club anthems as it does to the mechanical emotion of Kraftwerk, the camp industrial sound of SPK and early Ministry, and the cacophonous rumble of Scandinavian black metal.
The black metal influence is a pet fascination for songwriter Arnaud Rebotini apparently. So it's a real mongrel, yet Blackstrobe manage to combine these diverse sounds and influences of rock and dance without sounding contrived. In fact, it's as smooth as the very tight black leather pants you should be wearing when you dance to this.
Despite all the influences mentioned earlier, Blackstrobe mostly recall the late 80s/early 90s heyday of industrial dance acts like KMFDM, Front 242, and Skinny Puppy. But, it's the predominance of the raunchy dancefloor vibe on tracks like Blood Shot Eyes and dirty epic Buzz Buzz Buzz, that boots Burn Your Own Church into the here and now. This is fresh, and sometimes rough, French dance music that makes Daft Punk look and sound daft.
Dizzee Rascal
Maths + English
Label: XL/The Label
Verdict: Grimy pop album from King of British urban sound
Herald rating: * * * *
Cyrus
From the Shadows
Label: Tectonic/Samurai
Verdict: Debut of dark and almost too static dubstep
Herald rating: * * *
Various
Skull Disco: Soundboy Punishments
Label: Skull Disco/Samurai
Verdict: Futuristic music of the slow jungle boogie variety
Herald rating: * * * *
Blackstrobe
Burn Your Own Church
Label: Remote Control/Inertia
Verdict: Frenchies create black metal club anthems with arse-shaking impact
Herald rating: * * * *
