Somewhere In The Real World - Vanessa Amorosi

Ok, so I picked this up thinking it was some new young ingenue that I'd never heard of. Imagine my surprise then when I looked her up on Wikipedia and found that this was her fourth studio album and she'd already had a greatest hits CD out as well.

If you're looking for something to compare it to, we're probably talking Kelly Clarkson before she started to believe her own hype a little too much. Which means that it's not perfect, but it has more than enough pop delights to keep you entertained.

I really liked A Little Love, even before the totally ace Sax riff starts coming in towards the end; simply it's the kind of song Kylie should be doing (and would no doubt top the charts for weeks if she did). My House, which also has brass on it (always a winner), is another funky stomper which has something a lot of pop music doesn't have these days...a sense of humour. It's also just a little bit naughty, which is also always a good thing. I Want Your Fire is also another funky dance track which hits all the right spots.

Of course, this being a "modern pop album" TM there has to be ballads, and they're not very good. But I don't buy a pop album for the ballads, so I'm never going to listen them to again anyway.

I couldn't really recommend this as a "must buy" as there isn't really enough to justify the purchase cost, but if you're a little flush this month or can find someway to lay your hands on the standout tracks, this is well worth a little bit of investigation.