Insolo, Gary Kemp's second solo album

Insolo is the title of Spandau Ballet songwriter and singer's second solo album.

Kemp's belated follow-up to 1995's solo debut opens with a dramatic blast: the title track is a six-minute, filmic epic about loneliness in the big city. Written as a series of scenes with a grand, string-laden production, it recalls Scott Walker in the late '60s. Nothing else is quite as ambitious on this introspective album whose key song seems to be Waiting For The Band, which describes a teenage fan's excitement at seeing his hero (David Bowie, apparently). 

Gary Kemp actually sings Bowie-like on the lovely I Am The Past. Mostly the feel is 1970s- 80s AOR, lushly upholstered and hook-laden. The George Michael-ish I Remember You is another bittersweet highlight that Radio 2 daytime producers will fight over. Kemp has lately fronted Nick Mason's Saucerful Of Secrets band, but anyone expecting echoes of wayward genius/madman Syd Barrett amid Insolo's smooth contours will be disappointed.

John Bungey