JLS: Outta This World - review

In the two years since JLS finished as runners up on The X Factor, they've helped – for better or worse – to revive the boyband as an all-singing, all-dancing entity. We're talking less comfy knitwear and chair-based choreography from the mid-30s "manbands" and more dancing in unison while wearing colour-coded outfits. Outta This World is the follow-up to their multi-platinum debut and already includes a No 1 single in the shape of the ridiculous, borderline-irritating The Club Is Alive. With one eye on the US market, it's an album that takes few risks; lyrically we're on familiar ground as hands are thrown in the air, DJs are keeping people dancing and love grows stronger by the day. There are moments when the expensive producers and JLS's not-inconsiderable vocals mesh, most notably on the slushy Love You More and the Stargate-produced title track, while Superhero harnesses a Timbalandesque beat to a sky-scraping chorus. Too often, however, Outta This World reminds you of other, far superior songs, from Work's pastiche of Rihanna's Rude Boy to the blatant lift from Calvin Harris's I'm Not Alone on Eyes Wide Shut.