Rob Thomas - Cradlesong

Rating:

* *

Rob Thomas seems like a pretty nice guy. He's certainly enthusiastic as he belts out power rock solos and big, BIG, hooks.

"How do you sleep when the city's burning?" he rages on

Fire on the Mountain

, in what sounds like a dodgy Bono impersonation.

But you can't help but suspect Thomas wasn't one of the cool kids at school. The one still in tapered jeans, when everyone else had moved on to bootcut.

Cradlesong

is a bit like that. It might have been a chart-topper earlier this decade, but now it just feels dated and, well, a bit lame.

Thomas may sing "welcome to the real world" on

Real World '09

, but he appears to reside in a parallel universe, where Bon Jovi is the pinnacle of all things awesome.

Thomas had never tried to be one of the cool kids. His former band Matchbox20 were the poster boys of wallpaper radio rock - so inoffensive and unexceptional you hardly noticed they were there. They were well aware of their status at the time and completely unfazed by it.

But as a solo artist, Thomas really wants to fit in. He tries so very hard.

As he sings about loves lost and other cliches, he roars like he's never roared before (and the man is fan of bellowing lyrics ...).

He's nothing if not passionate.

But too much fervour can come across as desperate - and there is nothing so unappealing as desperation.

Joanna Hunkin