Olly Murs has established himself as one of the UK’s most-loved pop stars since rising to prominence on ‘The X Factor’ back in 2009. Since then he’s gone on to have a very successful career in the music industry with 7 studio albums under his belt – 5 of which reached number 1 – and a string of TV and radio presenting gigs. Since the dominance of the streaming era, Murs has struggled to make a mark on the singles chart and his albums haven’t been selling the numbers he was used to. 2022’s ‘Marry Me’, while hitting number 1 and receiving solid reviews, didn’t hit the Platinum status that all his previous albums reached (or exceeded). For eighth studio album ‘Knees Up’, Murs says he’s returning to his roots but is it enough to catapult back to the top of the charts?
‘Knees Up’ has more in common with Murs’ self-titled 2010 debut album than it does the rest of his catalogue. The set leans heavily into ska sounds, which Murs has dipped in and out of across his career, and it’s a genre that is marmite to a lot of people. The album opens with the Madness-esque title track, ‘Knees Up’, with Murs speaking the verses and singing the chorus. The song does showcase Murs’ trademark cheeky chappy persona but you can’t help but feel this is a ska rehash of Blur’s superior anthem ‘Parklife’.
‘Save Me’, one of the singles released ahead of the album, is a little less in-your-face than the opening track and it’s a decent ska-pop tune. Having said that, it’s nothing fresh or new so it sounds familiar without leaving a huge impression. That unfortunately is the case for much of the album; there’s nothing wrong with it per se but it’s all just a little bit safe and underwhelming. The frenetic ‘Guilty’ is the album’s most memorable track while ‘Bonkers’ has a catchy chorus but the spoken-word verses are, dare I say it, just a little bit cringe.
Elsewhere on the record Murs delivers a midtempo ballad on ‘Love = Madness’, which is a welcome reprieve from the ska sounds that come before. It’s only a temporary break though as the ska sounds come back with a vengeance on ‘Run This Town’. ‘Cut To The Chase’ is one of the album’s more interesting moments, sounding like a 70s ballad with a stomping beat, and “Lovin’ Really Hurts” is the closest we get to a true standout track. ‘Knees Up’ comes to a close with the overly cheesy ‘Chin Up’, which is aiming to be an inspirational anthem but could have done with a little more subtlety in its lyrics.
On paper, I can understand why Murs made ‘Knees Up’. Returning to his roots should have been a sure-fire success story but the end result is an uneven album that could be the worst of Murs’ career. When you think back to his big hits – ‘Dance With Me Tonight’, ‘Heart Skips a Beat’ etc – there’s nothing here that comes close. Murs is a good popstar, and someone whose music I've always enjoyed, and he’ll continue to sell live tickets by the bucketload, but ‘Knees Me’ isn’t his best work.
Track list: 1. Knees Up 2. Save Me 3. Guilty 4. Bonkers 5. Honest 6. Love = Madness 7. Run This Town 8. Yesterday’s News 9. Cut to the Chase 10. Still Getting Used (To The Ring) 11. Lovin’ Really Hurts 12. Chin Up Record label: BMG Release date: 21st November 2025 Buy ‘Knees Up’ now
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