What do you do when you leave one of the biggest boy bands in England, establish a solo career that turns you into a household name, sell millions of records around the world and yet, still remain virtually unknown in the US? Robbie Williams offers some answers with his latest release: by simply making the catchiest, most melodic pop songs you could want to hear.

The first thing you notice when listening to this album is that the overall feel of it's songs are quite mellow compared to his earlier work. Where past tracks ranged from bombastic rock (Let Me Entertain You) to dancefloor funk (Rock DJ, Millennium) to power ballad perfection (Angels), the songs that make up Escapology are more organic, moody and downtrodden than before. While it's always refreshing to hear an artist strip away all of the pop gloss and studio trickery, too much of a good thing almost sinks this album as it is comprised of mostly ballads and mid-tempo pop/soul grooves without much variation during its 60 minute run time.

Fortunately, for us, Robbie and longtime producer/writing partner Guy Chambers still manage to do what they always have; writing catchy songs and letting the charismatic Williams shine throughout. Kicking off with the gorgeous, soulful "Feel", we get the idea that this is going to be a more mature outing as Robbie intones "I just want to feel real love.....cause I got too much life, running through my veins, going to waste." Longing for love, dealing with loss and yet standing tall in the face of adversity are elements that runs through much of the album; where as before we would get the boasting, ego-charged Williams, we now get the genuinely uplifting "Something Beautiful", with its refrain of "If you can't wake up in the morning, cause your bed lies vacant at night.....something beautiful will come your way".

Of course, the fun loving, tongue-in-cheek Robbie does show up throughout the album in songs like "Handsome Man" and "Monsoon". Following "Feel", "Monsoon" lets us know that it won't be too serious of a ride with its opening lines "I've sung some songs that were lame, I've slept with girls on the game". The funny thing is that the lyrics do not come across as babble, you will actually believe him when he sings these words. "Me And My Monkey" is a hilarious Tex-Mex inspired romp about a man on the run with his trouble-making pet monkey.

Will album number 5 be the one that finally breaks Williams in the States? Possibly sensing this might not happen, Robbie sings "Yeah I'm a star but I'll fade". Let us hope this happens AFTER a few more well-deserved platinum records.

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