Album: VV Brown, Travelling Like the Light, (Island)

This isn't working. While there is undeniably a modicum of talent beneath Brown's tubular quiff, her debut album is ruined by the whiff of major-label desperation.

A plastic blend of faux-retro soul, glam and rock'n'roll, it sounds as if someone standing behind her is second-guessing what the kids are gonna dig. "I Love You", her 1950s-style torch ballad, shows she can do it, but "Crying Blood" typifies the album: likeable for a little while, irritating for a lot longer. Sack the producer and start again.