RECORDS / The IoS Playlist: The five best sounds of the moment

David Byrne: David Byrne (WEA, CD / tape). Uneven, by his high standards, and in spite ofthe title, he is still looking for a solo identity: the delicate Latin rhythms are joined here by some incongruous crashes and bangs. But several of the 12 tracks get under your skin, led by the cheerfully lugubrious 'Sad Song'. See live review, The Critics, main paper. Tim de Lisle

Purcell: Secular Songs. King's Consort (Hyperion, CD). Latest in Robert King's long-running Purcell series, with some fine voices, including Barbara Bonney, James Bowman and new Ferrier-prizewinner Susan Gritton. MW

Milton Nascimento: Only a Dream in Rio from Angelus (Warner Bros, CD, import). At last, a proper use for James Taylor: his voice and Nascimento's weave around a gentle Brazilian accordion. Richard Williams

Michel Petrucciani: Besame Mucho from Marvellous (Dreyfus Jazz, CD). A piano, a string quartet, and a gliding Latin ballad: if Antonio Banderas and Victoria Abril were to fall in love, this is what they'd dance to. RW

Frentel: Marvin the Album (Mushroom, CD/ tape). Gorgeous girl-next-door pop from four young Australians. David Cavanagh