Ben's Brother Beta Male Fairytales CD

The debut album by London five-piece band Ben's Brother, Beta Male Fairytales saw Jamie Hartman stepping out from the shadow of his big brother Ben, who inspired the group name, with a self-written, soulful, and emotion-filled album featuring 12 tracks, all written by Hartman. Ben's Brother were a proper gigging band (not one discovered on a TV talent show), but the vocal qualities are not dissimilar to Ben Mills, who did nearly win The X Factor. The problem that Ben's Brother faced was that the mid-2000s were awash with singers who had that Rod Stewart/Joe Cocker gravelly vocal quality, from established stars like the Stereophonics to newcomers like Paolo Nutini, and Beta Male Fairytales had nothing to distinguish it from the background coffee-table albums prevalent at the time. It opens with "Rise" and "Beauty Queen," both tracks released as singles and both straightforward piano and guitar-led midtempo ballads. The tracks "Home," "Bad Dream," and "God by Another Name" had some of the musical arrangement qualities of Keane, but the penultimate track was an interesting 98-second instrumental, "Harmonica in F (Interlude)," almost an Irish jig on the acoustic guitar and harmonica. ~ Sharon Mawer

Ben's Brother: Jamie Hartman (vocals, acoustic guitar, piano); Tim Vanderkuil (guitar, background vocals); Kiris Houston (acoustic guitar, harmonica, keyboards, glockenspiel, background vocals); Dan McKinna (bass guitar, background vocals); Dave Hattee (drums, percussion).

Additional personnel: Claes Björklund (electric guitar, drum programming); Rob Bailey (electric guitar); David Davidson , David Angell (violin); Kris Wilkinson, Monisa Angell (viola); John Catchings (cello); Nikolai Torp (harmonica, Wurlitzer organ); Sacha Skorbek (piano); Sven Lindvall (upright bass, bass guitar); Martin Johnson (drums); Martin Terefe (drum); Nirva Ready, Miss Katie Robinson, Gayle Mayes (background vocals); The Love Sponge Strings.