You couldn’t create an album with less female appeal than this if you tried.

What other men try to conceal beneath the periscope hood of ageing parkas, Mark John Hibbett proudly thrusts into the open. Hibbett’s mission in life is to pounce on the dullest of subject matter, hold it up to the glaring light and pronounce it good.

A bit of blokiness is fine but on Regardez, Ecoutez Et Repetez the alright-me-ol’-mucker chuminess all too often verges into irony-free overload.

‘All The Good Men’ finds Hibbett railing against women who complain about the lack of decent men without first having the decency to sample his type of omega-male: “I drew them a map. To show them where to find a decent chap. Like record shops and Computer Fairs.” Hold it for a moment — seared into your consciousness? Now avoid. Like the plague.

Quite a catchy tune though.

2 out of 5

Paul Coletti