Formerly of naff pop duo Savage Garden, the now solo Darren Hayes returns with this taster of his curiously named second album, The Tension And The Spark. Pop!ular is a concerted stab at sleazy electro pop, parodying the shallowness of fame seekers - although quite how much it succeeds is questionable. Some of the right components are in place - the snappy beats, the satisfying bass and the funky stop-start rhythms - but where this falls a little flat is in Darren's wispy, anaemic vocals. With so little raw attitude there's not much chance he'll stand out from the crowd.