The third studio album from the runner-up of the 2009 season of The X Factor, 2012's
Right Place Right Time features more of vocalist
Olly Murs' soulful, R&B-inflected pop music. This time around
Murs delves into even more of a funk sound, and tracks like "Troublemaker" (featuring rapper
Flo Rida) and "Hey You Beautiful" bring to mind the sound of such similarly inclined contemporaries as
Maroon 5 and
the Wanted. Elsewhere,
Murs touches upon some more organic sounds, as with the orchestral-inflected "Loud & Clear" and the yearning romantic anthem "Hand on Heart." This kind of balance between a brighter, slicker dance sound and a more uplifting singer/songwriter approach fits
Murs nicely and brings him closer to such contemporaries as
OneRepublic and
Ed Sheeran. The fact that
Murs' swaggering, cheeky personality comes through on what is on the surface a big, mainstream pop production is in large part what makes the album so appealing. Perhaps not surprisingly,
Murs co-wrote most of the songs with a handful of producers, including
Claude Kelly and
Steve Robson, both of whom worked on
Murs' 2011 album,
In Case You Didn't Know. Also featured here are productions from
Andrew Frampton (
Natasha Bedingfield,
Kylie Minogue),
Darren Lewis aka
Future Cut (
Lily Allen,
Shakira), and others. Ultimately, with
Right Place Right Time, one might say
Murs is maturing. Thankfully, that doesn't mean he's getting boring, and these songs are as pop-oriented and fun as anything he's done before. ~ Matt Collar