Olly Murs: In Case You Didn't Know – review

The press release affixed to the second album from 2009 X Factor runner-up Olly Murs begins: "I'm never going to think, 'Right, I've made it now.' Even the greats like Paul McCartney never think they can't do better." You've got to love his cockiness, especially when there's so little basis for it: In Case You Didn't Know is an unapologetically lightweight product by a chappie born to be labelled "cheeky", and that's about the size of it. Yet it has more going for it than the usual gagsome treacle associated with X Factor contestants. Refusing to be mired in a swampland of balladry, Murs darts lightly from cute reggae (Heart Skips a Beat) to sax-blaring 50s pop (Dance with Me Tonight) to Bacharach/Davidish lushness (Just Smile), and sounds as if he's enjoying himself enormously. Endowed with a decent white-soul voice that recalls Will Young, he and his tunes are never less than easy on the ear.