Thomas Leer - H is for Home (thomasleer.co.uk)

A free MP3 download from Leer’s new website allows you to get a feel for the fascinating twists and turns his sound and style are taking these days. Check it out then dive into his excellent new album, From Sci Fi To Barfly, which is also available on the site.

Jesus Jones - Doubt (iTunes)

A digital-only re-release from one of 1990s brightest stars of the dance/rock crossover. But not one that proves their music could stand the test of time. While Utah Saints, possibly Carter USM and certainly the KLF can be listened to with just as much awe and fun in 2007, listening back to likes of Jesus Jones and EMF has just too much of a transient feel. Preview the hits from this set on iTunes - Right Here Right Now and International Bright Young Thing – and you’ll see what I mean. The exceptions that prove the rule are Real Real Real and the industrial workout Stripped – both well worth a single-track download.

Make – Sans Toi Mami (MySpace)

Think Stereolab meets Pizzicato 5, with Americana underworld always simmering beneath the surface. This is our hot tip from the world of MySpace, where you’ll currently find five tracks and an album on the way. Make is a duo of instrumentalist Ken Rangkuty and singer Mayumi Kaneyuki from LA who have previously recorded for labels including UpFront Works and Cotton Club. This standout track from their MySpace set, Sans Toi Mami, will give you a one-track intro to their addictive sound. *****

Muse – Invincible EP (A&E Records)

This EP is exclusive to the iTunes music store, and contains two versions of the track Invincible. One from the studio and one recorded live in Milan. Musically it’s sound but as a download package it’s a triumph of iTunes hype. How can something be an EP with just two tracks, both of which are the same song?! And the special deal you get for downloading both tracks, sorry, the ‘full EP’ is poor too. They’re 79p each, or £1.49 for both – a total saving of nine pence! *

Adeva - The 12" Mixes (Cooltempo)

EMI is putting a lot of effort into digital re-releases of 90s dance material this year. The latest to appear is a download-only reissue of this eight-track remix compilation from Adeva, which originally appeared right at the start of that decade. 17 years later there are, unfortunately, no bonus tracks, and nothing in the way of artwork or digital booklets. So cut to the chase and take the three best tracks: Tony Humphries’ remixes of Warming! and Love is Special, and Dancin’ Danny D’s remix of Respect featuring a rap from Monie Love. ***

Various – Best of the Store 10-16 April (iTunes)

This year iTunes has been compiling some of the more interesting and popular downloads into one handy album package. You can of course preview each track and download them individually, or you can trust the judgement of the compilers and go for the full album purchase. Based on this particular edition, which features Money Mark, Mark Ronson (his hyperjazz rendition of Coldplay’s God Put A Smile On Your Face), as well as a long-overdue return to OK Computer’s MP3 player for Jah Wobble (Desolation), we’d say the full 14-track download is well worth considering. ****

Bob Dylan - The Collection (Columbia)

This isn’t exactly a new release – it appeared on iTunes late last summer – but it’s well wworth flagging up. It’s another of the new breed of ‘digital box sets’, gargantuan multi-track downloads for a single, fixed price. Apple launched this one to tie-in with the release of Dylan’s Modern Times (itself available as an iTunes special edition adding two videos) and it holds a staggering 800 tracks. That’s every song from each of his studio albums, The Bootleg Series releases, 42 additional rarities and a digital booklet featuring of liner notes by Tom Piazza. A snip at £169.99. ****

The Marbles - The ZTT Recordings, Volumes 1 and 2 (ZTT)

The Marbles first appeared with a 1998 single In My Eye, released only in their native Ireland. They then released two singles on ZTT - some overseen by Pulp/Suede producer Ed Bueller - but disappeared almost as quickly as they had arrived. But now stacks of tracks from this late 90s rival to the New Radicals (as Music Week once mooted) have been made available online. Volume 1 can be found at hmvdigital.com and has 10 tracks in total. Volume 2 is on Warp Records’ bleep.com and has the previously Ireland-only material some live, in-the-studio material. ***

Snow Patrol - Chasing Cars (Live In Toronto) (iTunes)

This is a tricky download to get hold of, but worth the hassle. Firstly, it’s only available on iTunes. Secondly, it’s only available in their US download store. So UK users will have to select the “Change Store” button in their software to find it. You’ll then have to pay $0.99 as opposed to the standard £0.79 but, enough of these hassles, it’s well worth it. One of the greatest songs of 2006, in a crystal quality, impassioned performance. ***

Inner City - Paradise Remixed (iTunes)

This is a welcome digital-only re-release of an album most people will have originally bought on vinyl. It’s the spin-off remix compilation from Inner City’s ground breaking Detroit house debut Paradise. There are some classic tracks on here, like Steve Silk Hurley’s remix of Good Life, and fellow Detroit pioneer Juan Atkins’ tackling of two of the duo’s biggest hits, Big Fun and Do You Love What You Feel?. Also re-released this month are the band’s second and third albums, 1990’s Praise and 1992’s Fire. ***

Sigue Sigue Sputnik - Dress For Excess (iTunes)

Of all the Sputnik releases to deserve only a digital re-promotion, this has to be the one. This was their second album, originally released in 1989, that soundtracked their crossover from subversive hyper-merchants into Stock Aitkin Waterman wannabes. Hiring Kylie and Rick Astley’s production trio would have made for an interesting press release, but it certainly didn’t deliver an album’s worth of material that was anywhere near as relevant and fascinating as their 1986 debut Flaunt It. The sleeves and titles – for singles like Albinoni Vs. Star Wars, Success and Dancerama - were still pretty cool but you don’t get any of that visual appeal when buying MP3s only, in this case, the most mediocre sounds of art pop. *

The Wurzels - I Am A Cider Drinker 2007 (EMI Gold)

Released on April 16, here we have the classic Wurzels hit rerecorded in aid of the BUI Prostate Cancer Care Appeal. This is the band that, in the 80s, the Pope pulled over his Popemobile to watch in Canterbury. Then in the 90s they played at Buckingham Palace only for the Queen to ask for “the noise” to be turned down. And now in the 00s Robbie Williams opens his shows with Wurzels numbers, they collaborate with British Sea Power and the band’s Steve Clint Stallone is played by Steve Coogan in Thursday Night Fever. But none of this kudos outweighs the fact that guest vocals on this single come from Tony Blackburn. **

Future Sound Of London – Cascade (iTunes)

With last year’s Teachings From The Electronic Brain compilation, Virgin are really setting the history of FSOL straight. The only band reviewed this month to be the subject of a question on University Challenge, their latest reissues are four digital-only singles. These are probably the best value digital singles you’ll ever download though, as each is made up of each least six parts totalling well over 40 minutes. There are two from 1994’s ambient epic Liferorms (the title track and Cascade) and two from 1996’s Dead Cities (My Kingdom and We Have Explosive). It’s the Cities material that has dated, all big-beat hooks and little in the way of subtlety. But the Lifeforms material holds strong, especially the suite of mixes for Cascade – the must buy item of this set. ****

Lily Allen – LDN (iTunes)

She was robbed at The Brits but you can commiserate by getting this live, acoustic version which is available only on iTunes. £0.79 gets you 4:01-worth of LDN recorded last year in concert at Bush Hall. ****

Moby – Go Remixed (mute.com)

The Downloadable Deluxe Version of Go, the Best of Moby, scored just two stars in this column back in our Christmas issue because too many versions across countless download sites smacked of record company cash-in rather than the almost hand-crafted product you’d expect from Moby. Fortunately this download edition is different from its CD counterpart, but is much easier to get your head around. It drops two tracks (the CJ Bolland Mix of the James Bond Theme and Moby's own Old Skool Mix of Feeling So Real) but adds two in its place (Bob Sinclar’s Main Vocal Mix of We Are All Made Of Stars and the Slipping Away/MHC Edit of Escapar). But if you only download one track from this set, make it Rollo and Sister Bliss’ (a/k/a Faithless) take on Honey. ***

Moby – Go Remixed (mute.com)

The Downloadable Deluxe Version of Go, the Best of Moby, scored just two stars in this column back in our Christmas issue because too many versions across countless download sites smacked of record company cash-in rather than the almost hand-crafted product you’d expect from Moby. Fortunately this download edition is different from its CD counterpart, but is much easier to get your head around. It drops two tracks (the CJ Bolland Mix of the James Bond Theme and Moby's own Old Skool Mix of Feeling So Real) but adds two in its place (Bob Sinclar’s Main Vocal Mix of We Are All Made Of Stars and the Slipping Away/MHC Edit of Escapar). But if you only download one track from this set, make it Rollo and Sister Bliss’ (a/k/a Faithless) take on Honey. ***