Rob Thomas - This Is How A Heart Breaks (Atlantic)

As you may well be aware, Rob Thomas, of Matchbox 20 and Santana collaboration fame, is now a fully fledged solo artist. This Is How A Heart Breaks is the second single to be lifted from his debut album - and on the evidence of this alone, proves that this is a man who still knows his way round a slick, impossibly catchy pop tune.

Unsurprisingly, this is a song that will appeal to the widest possible spectrum of the record buying public. Whatever you may think of Thomas, he has this down to a fine art. If there was a degree in how to pry away those dollars from the wallets of listeners, Thomas would have a Masters - and quite probably a PHD.

And indeed, here we get some typically glossy production, lovelorn lyrics ("Life is like a mean machine, it made a mess outta me") and an unforgettable - like it or not - gospel backing choir aided chorus that should ensure yet another successful venture into the charts. Whether or not Matchbox 20 have a future remains in the balance, for if he wants it, Thomas has a long and successful solo career ahead of him.