Charlie Baker: The Hit Polisher

With his tight leather jacket, sculpted beard, burgeoning belly and self-funded album (all attributes he points out himself, it must be said), Charlie Baker resembles something akin to a self-aware David Brent. Unlike the tragic Gervais creation, though, he's got the tunes and the gags to solidify his status as a bona fide entertainer.

The Hit Polisher is a breezy showcase of Baker's many crowd-pleasing talents; singing, dancing, trumpeting, and the odd standup routine to boot. Pleasing the proverbial crowd here proves ancillary to controlling them, with a raucous viewing party keen to join in with the performance when it most definitely isn't their cue. He handles them well, although it's not always clear in his set which portions are intended to be singalong karaoke and which are solo recitals.

The gist is that he takes classic pop hits and (rather disjointedly) slots swing-infused covers of them between contextual standup routines, on such topics as the birth of his second child and the seclusion of life in rural Devonshire. The overarching theme of "the power of pop" feels a little tacked on when it rears its head towards the end but it's not really a show that requires anchoring in any sort of grand idea.

It's simple, audiovisual fun. Get ready to "toot-toot" and/or "beep-beep" your way through R. Kelly's 'Ignition (Remix)'. Rest assured Baker will handle the rest.