CD - Hugh Sheridan - Speak Love

Reviews, By DanM82, 27th November, 2009

He’s been beamed into our televisions every Tuesday for the last two years and now he’s set to invade our iPods. Hugh Sheridan is in the process of releasing his debut album, Speak Love, to the general population. As luck would have it, the release is just in time for Christmas.

After a less than sparkling reception to his debut single Just Can’t Throw Us Away on the grand final of Dancing With the Stars, he went back to the drawing board, and released his new single All About Me. The single is certainly an improvement from the previous release and it’s easy to hear the influence of Maroon 5 in the track. Sheridan himself has described the track as ‘Robbie Williams meets Maroon 5.’ The track is catchy and has a healthy dose of rock/pop sensibility.

The rest of the album is quite bland. Yes, the guy can sing but his song choices leave a lot to be desired. They don’t really stand out in a crowd and will become disposable radio filling tunes within weeks of release.

Sheridan’s album sounds like a mix of Jason Mraz and Maroon 5. For some this may be quite appealing, for others it could be quite gruesome so it is necessary to leave it to the individual’s tastes. The album will chart well, if only because of Sheridan’s fame on Packed To The Rafters.

It would be remiss to say that the album is without an absolute highlight though. The surprising and delightful inclusion of Sheridan’s cover of Cake’s classic track Short Skirt, Long Jacket shows that there is hope yet. It sounds nearly identical to the original with no tweaks made by Sheridan to make it his own but it’s safer to assume that Sheridan didn’t want to mess with perfection rather than lack of creativity.

All in all, the album is passable. It’s not something to rush out and buy the day of release but if you’re curious, it’s certainly worth a listen. The best part of the album is that he didn’t include the tragedy Just Can’t Throw Us Away. With any luck, he will release a second album and show an improvement in taste.

Speak Love is out now Sony Music.

Watch All About Me here: