Vanguard

With the release of Maverick A Strike three years ago, Finley Quaye emerged as one of the most interesting and original new British artists around. A string of brilliant singles combined with an unusual and undoubtedly seductive voice made Quaye's own brand of pop reggae an instant hit.

Vanguard is the follow-up release and while he still has the voice, it is more difficult to find the songs. There is a lot of meandering going on here – many tracks are mid-tempo affairs, shoddily produced and lacking bite. Quaye likes playing with words and practically the entire lyrical content of the album is built on random rhyming and turns of phrase. Sometimes it works but often it is just nonsensical.

Vanguard is not irredeemably bad. Current single 'Spiritualized' is a frantic slice of energy with deep, sexy vocals and there are a few tracks here which follow the pop reggae formula with some success.

Unfortunately, overall Vanguard is a dissapointingly uneven and uninspired album.