Just Jack - 'Starz In Their Eyes' (Mercury) Released 15/01/07

Any trendy youngsters that can spout a few missives about hanging around a deserted shopping precinct city seem to be dubbed an 'urban poet laurete' by newspapers, magazines and politicians desperate to appeal to the youff vote. Camden native Jack Allsopp, along with Lily Allen and Sam Duckworth are amongst the best of the bunch, and this single, taking aim at crap TV talent shows is up there with 'Call Me Ishmael' and 'LDN'.

Just Jack sets about baiting X Factor losers with something that could almost even feature on the show - a shamelessly poppy stomper, with wacka wacka guitars, a fantastically catchy chorus, and more than a hint of the kind of nasty electronic RnB that soundtracks ITV's early evening schedule. It's a deliciously nasty piss-take, by someone who obviously knows exactly what he's doing, with a lyrical bite to match ("Remember they said you'd show them all/ Emphasize the rise but not the fall/ And now you're playing a shopping mall").

Alright, it's not exactly Morrissey-level sarcasm, and he's hitting a target so easy it's almost embarrassing ('cos, like, talent shows just ruin people's dreams, innit?) but when he does it this well, who cares? The best thing about all this is that included as a b-side is an instrumental karaoke version, which is either a fantastic postmodern joke, or just Jack being a bit thick.