This week, we'll start with a look at Mirrors, a bunch of synth popsters from Brighton. As is pretty much the law with anyone who owns a keyboard and lives in Brighton, they are signed to Skint. None of the three tracks on the sampler that we received appear to be on Youtube, so instead check out their Myspace in order to experience their lush, strangely modern take on the 80s New Romantics.

Night Parachuting by Wilful Missing

Just to prove how damn open minded we are, let's move from overblown 80s bluster (and that is genuinely meant as a compliment) to pared down folk pop, courtesy of Bradford's Wilful Missing. 'Night Parachuting' is undeniably pretty, featuring some truly beautiful strings which add an epic backdrop to the understated vocals of Sam Kipling. Be prepared to swoon a little come the three minute mark..

Maverick Sabre is a London born, Irish raised singer songwriter. Judging him solely on 'Sometimes', his support slots with the likes of Speech Debelle and Plan B would seem a perfect fit. It's a laidback piece of hip hop, with a deliberate, nostalgic flow detailing his upbringing (the antithesis to Rakim's "it ain't where you're from, it's where you're at", basically) set to a jangly acoustic guitar. However, from looking at his Myspace, much of his other stuff seems to be of a more folky, singer songwritery vibe. The eclectic sod.

Well well well, the return of a genuine legend with the mighty Gil Scott-Heron's 'Me And The Devil'. And what a return! Moody electronica verging on Leftfield at their most downbeat, or Massive Attack on an average day, with a lyric and vocal reminiscent of - though if anything slightly more deranged than - Tom Waits' version of his 'Way Down in the Hole', as heard on Season 2 of The Wire. A damn impressive comeback, and the other songs available on Youtube suggest his forthcoming I'm New Here LP could be absolutely ace.

Albarn, Hewlett and their myriad collaborators return with a typically underwhelming affair. A mundane electro groove is lifted briefly by Albarn's atmospheric vocal, but as is too often the case with their guest spots, Mos Def - one of the most talented MCs on the planet - sounds like he's phoned in his verse. Literally, actually. It's always nice to hear Bobby Womack, but his presence can't elevate this above the average. I'll be honest, I have absolutely no idea why people give them the respect they do..it's a vanity project, plain and simple. Don't get me wrong, if I was in Albarn's position I'd be straight on the blower to Mos Def, Bobby Womack, Mark E Smith, De La Soul and the rest as well, but I'd make sure I had some tunes first. Have I just claimed to be a better pop songwriter than Damon Albarn? I think I may! And on that bombshell...

Right, in the next week or so (deadlines don't exist in Flashlight world; we're such renegades) we will be launching a weekly e-mail newsletter. This will basically be the usual gubbins, letting you know what we've reviewed and found funny in the last week, what we have coming up, as well as details of competitions. If you would like to sign up, please just send an email with your name and email address to newsletter@flashlightmusic.co.uk - we've said it before but it definitely bears repeating: if you saw most of us trying to work computers you'd believe us when we say we wouldn't know how to do anything untoward with your email address, even if we wanted to..