Reviewed by Tony Cummings

Daniel has long been a favourite at Cross Rhythms. We were the only radio station to play that brilliant independent EP he made with his sister Natasha under the name DNA Algorithm. We gave even more play to his fine pop albums 'Gotta Get Thru This' (2002) and 'Second First Impression' (2004). And along with thousands of other supporters we longed that Daniel's years-long battle with his record label would be resolved and that new music would emerge from the hugely talented singer and multi-instrumentalist. Finally in April 2012 his musical silence came to an end with the release of this EP. Eight years is a massive period to wait for a new release. So what does the 'Stop The Traffik: Secret Fear' five-song EP deliver? Well, the opener "Secret Fear" is a mid-tempo pop rocker which spells out its romantic obsession in the first verse - "I have a secret fear/That I will love you still/Maybe all my life." There's a similar tempo on the next song, "Over U", with a funky groove rather let down by muffled drum machine and a staccato vocal which seems to take the opposite lyrical option to the girl who's messed up the singer's head ("I'm done and I'm over you now"). Elsewhere there's some great spikey guitar over a rolling bass groove on "It's Not Me It's You" and the piano-led ballad "Don't Write Me Off" which is slow and haunting and I think I once heard Danny sing at Greenbelt many years ago. But by far the most arresting track of the five is "Rocks Off" which has a thunderous electronic rhythm that shows the singer still, after all these years, retains plenty of clubland savvy. Unfortunately, the track is let down by a lyric which manages to be littler more than a banal sexual innuendo ("I see you're trying to get my socks off/You just wanna get your rocks off"). Considering the towering talents of Mr Bedingfield, this EP must be considered a major disappointment.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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