Jack Allsopp's 15 minutes of fame came comparatively late in his career; the Londoner had already released an album before 'Starz in Their Eyes' - ironically, a song about the trappings of insta-fame - made his second album 'Overtones' a hit in 2007.
Now that the dust has settled on his brief stint in the limelight, he's back with his third release. By all rights, 'All Night Cinema' should be Allsopp's reflective album, on which he ponders the shallow nature of the music biz and throws in a few wistful, orchestra-aided ballads to reinforce his points. Well, there's plenty of orchestration, although 90% of it unnecessary: 'Astronaut' is one of the best songs here with its divergent chorus and verse, but it's overloaded with cheese, just like the awful 'The Day I Died', a lilting acoustic number that sounds like Paolo Nutini, Jack Johnson and Jack Penate banging heads and instruments in frustration.
That said, there are a number of strong tunes here that might even make Calvin Harris look wearily over his shoulder. 'Doctor Doctor' and '253' are both fine tracks, the latter's zippy quirk demonstrating exactly why Allsopp should stick to electro-lite territory. The instrumental 'Basement''s driving, funk-splattered bassline also might even pass for New Order, beneath two layers of earmuffs.
It goes without saying that, like its predecessor, 'All Night Cinema' works best when Allsopp abstains from singing and sticks to a formula that works - polished dance-pop with semi-spoken vocals, but above all, music that's aimed at the charts. Unfortunately, there's too much filler here to make any real indent on anyone's consciousness. A swansong, or just his mandatory 'serious' album? Time will tell.
