Escapology

Robbie Williams’s readiness to spill emotions and anxieties on record means it’s hard not to feel you know him intimately. His fifth album maintains that candour, producing two of his best songs yet: “Feel”’s captivating plea for companionship, and “Come Undone”, a scathing assessment of celebrity culture with a supernova chorus. Confessional, acutely hummable pop is the core currency here and while it might not be Robbie’s most experimental record—Mariachi caper “Me and My Monkey notwithstanding—it’s impressively assured.