UnkleJam – ‘Love Ya’ (Virgin) Released 26/02/07

The debut release from this much-hyped hip-hop boyband arrives just a bit late for Valentines Day, but that heart-shaped logo and innocently romantic title are a bit misleading. This certainly isn’t a tune to soundtrack Cupid’s arrow striking glossy-eyed couples as their eyes meet across a crowded room.

Instead, this will almost certainly be the theme to many an illicit encounter in darkened nightclubs across the land, the sorts of places where a pint costs more than most of the punter’s shoes. Shame that, because beneath the polished pop glossiness, this is actually a rather fine piece of sleazy pop-funk. Imagine Prince, Parliament, George Clinton and Outkast jamming in a room, stand in the middle and you’ll hear something like this.