Ben's Brother - Battling Giants

You may not remember Ben’s Brother from last time around (the singles from 2007’s Beta Male Fairytale made only minor dents in radio playlists), but his famous mates haven’t forgotten about him, with a co-writing credit from Natalie Imbruglia on opener Apologise and guest vocals from Jason Mraz and (gulp) Joss Stone. But while this might sound like a recipe for disaster, sometimes a little fluff is a good thing. Battling Giants is certainly lightweight and perhaps a bit forgettable, but it’s polished pop which, when it works, works rather well, and is infinitely preferable to the pseudo-serious mewlings of, say, The Script. At times it feels like this record wants to be something more serious, as on the title track and What If I?, but on the whole its sunny disposition is strangely disarming. Elsewhere, tracks like Therapy and She Is Love take no risks yet help bolster the idea that Battling Giants is something of a surprisingly enjoyable guilty pleasure.