TLC - FanMail [2LP]

Long before every pop star had an online persona, TLC were sending FanMail from the near future, and their 1999 album returns here as a double LP.

Arriving five years after CrazySexyCool, the record leaned into turn-of-the-millennium tech anxiety, with a computerised voice called Vic-E threading through the interludes. Dallas Austin steered much of the production, and T-Boz, Left Eye and Chilli sound sharper and more self-assured than ever, trading leads with easy chemistry.

"No Scrubs", written by Kandi Burruss, Tameka Cottle and producer Kevin "She'kspere" Briggs, remains the gold standard for a pop kiss-off, all skittering beat and razor-edged harmonies. "Unpretty" flips the mood into a tender, guitar-led reflection on self-image and beauty standards, and "Dear Lie" is a soft, slow-burning confession that lets the group's vocal blend take centre stage.

Left Eye's verses add a jolt of wit and unpredictability, and the concept hangs together without ever feeling heavy-handed, the futuristic gloss never smothering the warm, very human songs underneath.

Spread across two discs, the whole running order, interludes included, has room to breathe, and those bass-heavy grooves sound right at home on a proper stereo. More than two decades on, it still sounds like a group at the very top of its game.