Album: Sam Sparro, Return to Paradise (Virgin/Positiva

Sooner than you could say "one-hit wonder", Sam Sparro sank from the public eye.

Four years on, the Australian electro-soul auteur's second album is a patchy affair which too often fails to transcend its blatant P-funk influences. In flashes, such as the shuddering centrepiece "Wish I Never Met You" and the heartfelt "Shades of Grey", it sounds like the best album Prince has made since he started giving them away for free. At its worst, it nudges Jamiroquai.