Album: Various Artists, Kanye West Presents Good Music, Cruel Summer (Good Music/Def Jam)

The music Kanye West reserves for his own albums is so much more ambitious than that apportioned to the collaborations on this compilation from his new label, Good Music.

Which isn't to say it's not effective: the sparse sub-bass throbs, ticking beats and staccato stylophone synth lines of tracks like "Clique", "Mercy.1" and "The Morning" may lack grandeur, but they bring a sinister, stalking ambience that matches the blend of money, mystery and menace in the contributions of collaborators including Ghostface Killah, Raekwon, Common, Kid Cudi and Jay-Z.