Seemingly coming from nowhere, Pony Club's 'Home Truths' was one of 2002's outstanding moments; a glittering array of bittersweet songs backed up with gritty, real-life lyrics and a crisp, modern production. Feasibly Mark Cullen could be the natural successor to Jarvis Cocker's throne or he could even retreat to the bedroom and be the next Babybird. More understandably one would expect Cullen to concentrate on establishing his own identity but if that's the case then 'Family Business' isn't the answer; Phil Spector is the undeniable influence as his customised "Wall of sound" has taken over. With better songs it could have worked but amongst the lavish settings, huge drum sounds and the unnecessary addition of a backing singer, the likes of 'Knees', Run' and 'Buried In The Suburbs' are revealed as rather weak , very forced-sounding acts of folly. 'One In A Million' even borrows too heavily from his own work, lifting the same verse structure as the previous album's 'CCTV' and rounding it off with a lazy shouty glam-stomp chorus; the irony of 'CCTV's lyric of "keep it real" now seems to turn the joke back on Cullen himself. It's by no means a complete fall from grace though, 'Miles Of Homes' and 'Spain Is Sunny' have the tunes to match the surroundings and it's no coincidence that they could have featured on 'Home Truths'. So it's an overcooked second effort; more Pete Wylie than Jarvis Cocker.