JLS: Jukebox – review

JLS named their third album Jukebox because, they assert, "there are all sorts of songs on there … no boundaries". Meaning it's overflowing with everything from doo-wop to bashment, right? Of course not: as one of the country's biggest boy bands, JLS aren't about to challenge their fans with anything indigestible, so Jukebox sticks to the urban-pop recipe that has netted them five No 1 singles in two years (including opening track She Makes Me Wanna, an Americanised in-the-club thing that only awakens when slinky guest vocalist Dev takes the mic). A couple of songs do diverge from the synths-and-gloss formula: Take a Chance on Me is a wet, Bruno Mars-apeing ballad saved by pretty nifty harmonies, and Innocence features acoustic guitar plus the minor chords that made their 2009 single Beat Again so toothsome. This jukebox needs restocking – next time, how about something that makes more play of their Britishness?