I MUST admit that Ron Pope has gone completely under my radar.

However, with 1.5 million singles sales to his name and multi-million downloads on sites such as Spotify, he clearly cannot be ignored any longer. Calling Off The Dogs opens with Lick My Wounds, an infectious pop tune with a catchy chorus and more than its fair share of “woah woahs”. But proving he is certainly no onetrick pony, Pope goes onto to showcase broader talents with the likes of the richly-layered second song, Empty Page.

Pope is credited as writer, composer, recorder, producer and manager, something that gives his work a highly personal touch. Without interference from third parties, he has been able to come up with an album that from the first note to the last word is all his own work and is all the better for it.