★★★★☆
Illy certainly seems to have a firm grip on the steering wheel of a successful pop career.
You may even be reminded of the Katy Perrys and Justin Biebers of the world with the likes of ‘Oh My’ or ‘You Say When’ on his new album Two Degrees – and if he can emulate even a fraction of their success, he’ll have the music biz under his thumb.
Sure enough, Illy has retained a little of his Aussie hip hop twang, but somehow the edges have been smoothed over, like someone’s taken an emery board and buffed most of the ocker out. It leaves us with an internationally accessible collection of songs. The intentions are clear: Illy has made an album filled with catchy grooves that commercial radio will feast upon.
Illy started out in hip hop, but who’s to say he can’t deviate from that course? To reach a broader audience, he’s decided to stifle some of the awkward beauty of his earlier sound, and he achieves this seamlessly throughout Two Degrees.
There’s plenty to dance about on this album, and there are a few interesting collaborations to boot. Throw in a little Auto-Tune and you have a whole stack of foot-tapping beats for your summer listening pleasure.
Illy’sTwo Degrees is available now through Onetwo/Warner.
