SHE plays a mean rock guitar, sings like an angel and looks like a Greek goddess: Ash guitarist Charlotte Hatherley is the ultimate dream woman for most indie kids.

With that kind of drooling fan base it was inevitable she would take a sabbatical from Tim Wheeler and co to release a solo album. And on the whole she pulls it off, but ultimately is still better to look at than to listen to.

Hatherley kick-started her career with London riot grrl group Nightnurse and she harks back to those days on the fast-paced Paragon. The crashing single Summer is as Ash as it gets, and with songs as quirky and Britpoppy as Bastardo, this has the feel of an above-average Sleeper record.

Updated: 08:35 Thursday, November 04, 2004