OVERLOOKED: SAM SPARRO

Sam Sparro's debut album was released a few years back and after hearing about him and having my interest piqued, I listened to it on Lala.com (which is sadly no more) and sort of always meant to buy it, but just never did... Then, recently, I had a chance to see him perform live in Los Angeles and really enjoyed his set, so I finally got around to purchasing it from iTunes.
The one song that I had heard quite a bit before is of course his biggest hit, "Black and Gold," which I do enjoy but doesn't really do all that much for me - it's nice enough.  The song that, when performed live, really got me going is "Pocket," and it's definitely my favorite on the album.  From start to finish, it's a pretty solid effort.  The US version of the eponymous disc begins with "S.A.M.S.P.A.R.R.O." which is just sort of a silly little introductory track that sets the tone for the rest of the album, with funky beats, robotic synths and vocoded vocals.  The rest of the album is made of up strong songs like those already mentioned, as well as "Sick," whose opening reminds me a little of "Bulletproof" by LaRoux, and "Clingwrap," which has some really funny lyrics ("You see I've got enough friends that could fill a truck up, Now give me some room and just back the fuck up.")
There are a few tunes that are a little too much like clunkers, such as the generic disco of "Cut Me Loose" and the Chromeo-esque "Sally," but even those have some redeeming qualities. 
The highlight of the album is Sam's ultra-sexy voice, who makes even the less-interesting songs fun to listen to, just to hear that voice!  His combination of good looks and strong pipes makes it difficult to understand why he hasn't found much success stateside ("Black and Gold" peaked at #2 in the UK but only made it to #12 on the US dance chart). 
Evidently, Sparro is working on his sophomore record and hopefully that will garner him some more exposure here in the States.

Rating: OOO (Three out of Five O's)