Album Review: Olly Murs - Right Place Right Time

Personality is a big part of pop music. Take One Direction for example – without the funny bonhomie between the lads, their fanbase would be miniscule. Similarly, Olly Murs excels at being charming and cheeky. Every video clip portrays him with a pork pie hat firmly upon his head, dimples permanently stapled into cheeks, waltzing around with non-threatening braggadocio.

Yet if the music doesn't rise to the occasion, the whole image can fall flat. You want to love Murs; after all, the personable X Factor contestant turned X Factor offshoot program host seems delightful. Right Place Right Time isn't the record that will catapult him into pop's upper echelons, though. A handful of good singles are lost in a filler haze, heavy handed with false sentiment and mid-tempo balladeering.

Troublemaker is the perfect fit for Murs; vaguely funky and catchy as hell. The need to somehow broaden his appeal with a superfluous Flo Rida cameo is lost on this listener, yet the song shines regardless. If the record had more of this disco-tinged pop festivity, it would be irresistible. Not that it all has to be dance-worthy to be entertaining; Dear Darlin manages to capture a brief moment of genuine, non-Auto-Tuned vocal desperation in Murs' words, “Dear darling/please excuse my writing/I can't stop my hands from shaking” complemented by Emile Sande's Heaven-style percussion.

Despite the names pulled in to write on this record, including TMS, who've worked with UK chart toppers like the aforementioned Sande, Little Mix and Dappy, Murs' third album just doesn't feel right at all.