It is probably just wishful thinking from the haters that The X Factor is going into meltdown. Pop might be the sound of a bubble bursting, but the Class of Cowell is still having hits. Olly Murs is currently in a chart battle with Rihanna for the top spot with his single “Dance With me Tonight”, so don’t go sobbing for Louis Walsh just yet. In Case You Didn't Know is the second album from oily-haired Olly. I was hoping for something with the intrigue of Will Young. I got something with decent melodies and the lyrical complexity of Jedward.
Proceedings kick off enjoyably with the Number One hit "Heart Skips a Beat", which is as nice a slice of summery pop reggae as you'll hear this side of early Lily Allen. Things soon slip into a repetitive groove. “Dance With me Tonight” resembles an out-take from the Grease soundtrack. "I've Tried Everything" is so doo-woppingly similar they must have been separated at birth. Yet the identikit format, which shuttles between modern dance and old-school floorfillers, works well. Murs has a strong pop-soul voice and at times he flexes it to alarmingly arousing effect on lines that are largely love-me-do bland.
There are even occasional surprises and moments that will catch the most committed alt-rock fan’s ear. I’m sure I spotted a dusted-off Scritti Politti rimshot sample and there is a chord progression echo of The Libertines' "Up the Bracket" on “I Don’t Love You Too”. Murs apparently has creative control over his work, so maybe he knows how to put a record together just as well as his mentors. I can’t see him having a profile as enduring as the aforementioned Will Young, never mind George Michael, but this is an ideal snog-under-the-mistletoe Christmas party album. It should keep his career firing on all cylinders until, ooh, at least January 2012.
Watch Olly Murs perform "Heart Skips a Beat"
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