.co.uk Pop has waited far too long for an artist called Joost Zweegers. That the Belgian singer-songwriter has opted to release his works under the relatively pedestrian nom-de-plume Novastar is a shame, but we can't have everything. Zweegers is a big deal in the low countries, and it isn't hard to see why: these are slick, polished, sophisticated pop ballads, well crafted and well sung, if at times reminiscent of Crowded House to a frankly unnerving degree. "Wrong" and "Carelessly Dating" were both hits at home, and it can be imagined that they could do the same across Europe--they pitch roughly equidistant between A-Ha and Andreas Johnson, evoking if not always possessing the exuberant pop sense of the former and the glacial gloominess of the latter. And his name is Joost Zweegers. Cool. --Andrew Mueller
