Album: Frankmusik, Complete Me (Island)

Sometimes, ambition simply isn't enough; though it's clearly enough to ensnare A&R types in your fantasies of world domination, as the career of Vincent Frank, aka Frankmusik, so far demonstrates.

Diligent online teasing produced enough interest to secure Frank a deal, along with the services of top producer Stuart Price and top video director Tim Pope – though not, so far, an actual hit, Joe Public having spotted the one thing lacking in Frank's plan: a tune worth your whistle. This is brought into sharp focus in "When Your Around" (sic), where the sample of The Stranglers' "Golden Brown" wields potency lacking elsewhere. Frank is undoubtedly talented – he sings well, and possesses a working knowledge of digital techno-pop construction – but his Scissor Sisters/Mika-style blend of ELO symphonic pop cheese and retro-1980s electropop lacks conviction, as well as sounding a year or two out of date. On "3 Little Words", the brittle, hissy Hi-NRG pop groove resembles Hall and Oates in rave mode, while the combination of falsetto vocal, piano, synth and strings brings to mind Sparks – though they would surely treat romantic disaster with greater wit than Frank manages here.

Download this: 'When Your Around', 'Confusion Girl', 'Better Off As Two'