Dan Black

Mistakenly tipped as a musical mate of La Roux’s at the start of the year, Dan Black’s sound is actually more expansive and free-flowing than his peer’s penchant for plastic pop. In contrast to her fetish for all things ‘80s, the former frontman for The Servant is borrowing styles from everywhere and there’s an adventurous feeling to Un. It doesn’t seem to matter that using a slap bass-line on ‘Alone’ is about as popular as an immigrant at a BNP rally, Black gamely takes as many chances as he can, fusing funky rhythms together and foisting future-sounds onto his faithful listeners.

Black’s debut isn’t a certified classic. While tracks like ‘Symphonies’, ‘Pump My Pumps’ and ‘Cigarette Pack’ are all good tunes, the paucity of hooks means that they don’t linger in your memory. In fact, barring ‘Cocoon’ and the aforementioned ‘Alone’, Un lacks obvious hits. Still, the subtle musicality of ‘Let Go’, ‘I Love Life’ and more are really quite charming and hint that maybe this perennial underdog will have his day some time soon.