Spin Review
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| Darren Hayes can probably turn out Pop Lite ballads before breakfast, the kind that average folks sing along with on the radio at work. He's still doing it, despite the schism with Daniel Jones and the end of their 20-million-albums-sold partnership. While he has an itch to move on from the Savage Garden sound to something with a dance/R&B feel, his unerring commercial instincts hold sway. Hayes'solo debut is littered with ballads of that kind: I Miss You, Good Enough and I Can't Ever Get Enough Of You are so sweet they could make your teeth ache and send Savage-haters screaming from the room. The interesting bits are elsewhere, where Hayes manages to out-Jacko his childhood hero, Michael Jackson. Strange Relationship and Creepin' Up On You have a Thriller-esque groove; Heart Attack is a more convincing Jacko tune than anything on Invincible (and those lyrics wouldn't be about anyone we know, would they?), while the insidious disco of Crush (think Donna Summer meets Do Ya Think I'm Sexy ) will be burning up dancefloors from Logan to Lima any day now.Hayes might never be hip while he's hooked up with pop producer Walter Afanasieff (Mariah Carey, Affirmation ), but tracks like Crush and Spin show potential for a Kylie/Madonna-style cred makeover.Anyone got The Avalanches' number? |