Nu Flavor

Nu Flavor - Nu Flavor (Reprise Records) It seems there will always be room for just one more all-boys crooning group, so here come California's Nu Flavor to cosset us with 'sublime R&B ballads and harmonic pop melodies intertwined with unspoiled freshness' (it says here).

But anybody expecting the usual rap/funk/hip-hop/dance mixture is likely to be disappointed - or relieved - because Nu Flavor's preferred medium is the perfectly executed, smooth, almost sleazy musical love token delivered a la The Platters.

A livelier beat puts in just enough appearances to stop the whole thing sounding mawkish, and there is a lightweight, feel-good element to parts of this record which will make it a hit at parties.

The lyrics, of the 'girl I'm so crazy for you/you know that I want you' type, may be largely juvenile, but much more experienced bands remain guilty of peddling the same.

A boast is made of the quartet's never having had any formal voice training or songwriting experience, but that just lays them open to the suspicion that they are producer-driven and moulded, so flawless is the sound of this debut offering.

Still, there are echoes of Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson in opener Voices of the Future, and the hip-shaker Havin' a Party is reminiscent of a happier, longlost Madonna.

The ballad overload leaves the record seeming slightly drippy by the middle, but these songs will find their way on to a thousand soppy 'lurrve' compilations and at least the girls will go wild.

Next for Nu Flavor? Stadia gigs and movie soundtracks, undoubtedly.