Album: Soil & 'Pimp' Sessions, 6 (Brownswood)

Banzai! Despite one's wish to avoid stereotypes, Japanese combo S&P really do seem to be all about attack, with furiously driven piano and percussion supplying the backbeat for funky ensemble horn-play.

It's a method that – on record at least – can be wearying as well as exciting, as a jokey cover of "Papa's Got a Brand New Pigbag" proves. But this sixth album is half excellent, all the same. Two tracks with guest vocalists – Ringo Sheena and Jamie Cullum – work brilliantly, as does a Latin swinger, "Paraiso".