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Tom Fletcher undoubtedly possesses the Midas touch when it comes to fizzy teen pop. Two chart-topping albums and eight No 1 singles would make him a phenomenon if he was American. Instead, we critics ruffle his 21-year-old hair.
Perhaps it is his reputation as an incorrigible pasticheur of trad rock that makes him so undervalued outside his considerable fanbase. Motion in the Ocean references The Who, Queen, Bryan Adams, the Beatles and the Beach Boys, often in the space of one song. It is also packed with more hits, including Star Girl and Sorry’s Not Good Enough. True, it’s like sucking on a candy-striped lollipop sometimes — Bubble Wrap is especially toothsome — but at least Fletcher has not come over all emo like his former Busted bandmates.
MIKE PATTENDEN
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