It would be tempting to dismiss London Undersound as coffee-table music, yawn, then move on to the next album; but there’s the thorny problem of the opening track, Days of Fire, on which Sawhney and guest vocalist Natty concoct a track with some real emotional pull; and there’s the performance Sawhney coaxes out of Paul McCartney on My Soul, which, again, really connects with the listener. Set against these, the remainder of the album, with its easy-listening sounds and polite contributions from a lengthy and eclectic bunch of collaborators — ranging from Faheem Mazhar to Imogen Heap — must count as something of a disappointment. Album artwork by Antony Gormley only adds to the suspicion that Sawhney has more interesting numbers stored in his mobile than sounds stored in his imagination.

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