albums and tracks

Collecting a horde of fans via the MySpace/YouTube route can usually guarantee a successful crossover into the real world, and DJ Ironik has been no exception. 'Stay With Me', the heart-wrenching ballad for a generation of mourning youth, hit UK No.5 in July, ensuring the producer-turned-MC could offer an album to justify the hype.

No Point In Wasting Tears is a laudable effort, allowing Ironik to pass for pop without jeopardising his street reputation, and re-affirming his status as a ladies' man who's still got his ear to the underground. The album's biggest tracks are those which hark to the golden days of garage and grime. 'I Love You' pounds with brooding electro beats and 'I Wanna Be Your Man' is a whimsical shadow of Wiley's 'Wearing My Rolex'.

There's also a host of young talents on board like Chipmunk, Blessed Beats and Tinchy Stryder to add to the album's credibility. The bad news is, there are tons of love songs, many of which are weighed down by soppy samples (including, er, Westlife) and even soppier lyrics that do him no favours.

For what it's worth, Ironik knows the power of a mean hook and a quality melody, and he flaunts these skills like a British P Diddy who's hoping to make his mark on your MP3 in the name of all that's good and urban. Less could be said about his rapping style and some of the production, but for the most part, this album's an example of good-time music that teens will lap up in a heartbeat.

Matilda Egere-Cooper