Regina Spektor - Far (Sire)

Perhaps mindful of the fact that kooky singer-songwriters have become 10-a-penny of late, Russo-American piano-playing songstress Regina Spektor has broadened her horizons significantly, embracing — whisper it — a more commercial approach.

With ELO's Jeff Lynne, one-time U2 collaborator Jacknife Lee, The Strokes' studio boffin David Kahne and sometime Dr Dre soundman Mike Elizondo all sharing production duties, her songs have been imbued with the sort of colour, texture and gloss that is bound to make her less of a fringe attraction.

Those who fell for the charms of her major label debut, 2006's Begin to Hope, need not worry about her abandoning her left-field instincts, it's just that the songs don't seem to be trying quite so hard this time around.

The twin aspects of Spektor's appeal — ever-playful piano and out-there vocals — are very much to the fore. One can sense the exuberance of her fingers as she tickles the ivories on Calculation, while her larynx is put to the test on the yodelling chorus of Eet.

There's considerable dark humour too. Lead single Laughing With, finds Spektor contemplating some of life's more troubling propositions — an impending plane crash; being stuck in a warzone — while noting that few people in such positions question the existence of a higher power.

Burn it: Laughing With; The Calculation

Brodinski - Bugged Out! Presents Suck My Deck (Newstate)

French DJ and Keanu Reeves lookalike Brodinski delivers his debut mix CD for the erstwhile Bugged Out label.

In contrast to recent Suck My Deck sets by Simian Mobile Disco and Damian Lazarus, the track selection here (while excellent) sticks strictly to an electro-meets-minimal-techno blueprint.

For the average punter with no more than a passing interest in the genre, this lack of eclecticism might seem a little dull.

More dedicated fans might applaud his purism and his decision to release a mix which is closer to a live club set rather than a sit-at-home chill-out CD.

Vanessa Williams - The Real Thing (Commercial Marketing)

It's so easy to forget how Vanessa Williams has another talent aside from acting.

When she's not playing the scheming Wilhelmina Slater in Ugly Betty, the 46-year-old is working on music.

The Real Thing, her eighth album, is jazz-infused with a touch of Latin America. Featuring contributions from Stevie Wonder, Kenny ‘Babyface' Edmonds, Bill Withers and Bebel Gilberto, it's clear that the Grammy award-winner is serious about her music.

Songs like Breathless, Loving You and Close To You are strong efforts held up by Williams's smooth vocals.

Sultry and sexy, this is the perfect album to chill out to on a lazy Sunday morning.