Producer and MC Ty quickly made a name for himself as one of the shining stars of UK hip hop, with a Mercury nomination in 2003 to cement his rising fame.

Despite all of this acclaim, Closer, the title track from his recent new album, seems to be pretty uninspiring stuff.

Although the lyrical message is worthy - "Teach the youth to think that's what's fresh, for you to have a mind means no success" - and the words all flow nicely, it's a message that can be heard from several British artists, only laid over much more interesting music.

Closer really falls down with the soul-influenced, brass-backed tedium of the backing track - the kind of music to nod off to at the end of an evening - and the melancholy only gets worse with Blackbeard's dreary re-rub on the flipside.