DARREN HAYES left the ever-popular, long-lamented Australian group Savage Garden and, like many before him, decided on a solo career. The result is Spin.
While unlikely to have you in a spin, the album provides 12 easy-listening tracks, along with a bonus track called Insatiable.
What becomes evident while listening to this CD are the difficulties an artist must confront when trying to break away from the past to establish their own sound.
The music is pleasant enough - a string of love songs - but if you are a fan of Savage Garden, you cannot help but be reminded of the days of the duo - Hayes and Daniel Johns.
Savage Garden split in 2000 following two smash hit albums including Affirmation in 1999, which sold more than 20 million copies worldwide, and featuring hits such as the No 1 Truly Madly Deeply, and the modern classic I Knew I Loved You.
Hayes's distinctive high-register vocals have you thinking he is about to launch into an old favourite like the duo's The Animal Song.