Regina Spektor, Hammersmith Apollo

After years of cultish acclaim and enthusiastic reviews, the American singer-songwriter and star of New York's “anti-folk” scene Regina Spektor has now reached a career tipping point where mainstream acceptance beckons - and her detractors begin to sharpen their knives. She is, depending on your taste, either an idiosyncratic, piano-charming genius, or a contrived and slightly irritating kook cut from similar cloth to that of Tori Amos. With her heavy red lipstick and mane of auburn hair she...

Singles and Downloads 2

Rihanna, Russian Roulette (Mercury)

I strongly suggest anyone who believes the sound of US mainstream pop is somehow homogenised and safe take another look at the current charts. Standing over them like android colossi are Lady Gaga and Rihanna - who not only look exactly as pop stars were always going to look "in the future", but sound apocalyptically insane. This song is in the standard melodramatic modern power-ballad style of writer/producer Ne-Yo, but...

Lily Allen, 02 Academy Brixton

It’s girls’ night out. Walk in, the waves of scent and hairspray go right up your nose. And now here’s Lily, sloping on with a half-blonde half-black hairdo like a cross between Nancy Sinatra, an Afghan hound and a very pretty Jimmy Savile. As she crosses the Vegas-style stage, there’s even a touch of Wendy Richard about the high-pitched squeak and bum-wiggling dance. She’s wearing a tiny black sequined number and suggestive seams, and after a lame "Hello London!