If a debut album is a statement of intent, you need to be very careful what you call it. Sadly, young drummer/bandleader JJ Wheeler seems to have rather put his foot in it: there's nothing especially unconventional about his new CD. In fact, it's reminiscent of the sort of post-bop Acoustic Ladyland and Polar Bear were playing on the gig circuit about seven years ago, before they made the stylistic leap beyond bluesbased jazz. That's not to say there isn't some decent playing here. Wheeler is a lively presence throughout, sketching out a nifty solo just a few minutes into the first track and effectively signalling himself as the album's focus of attention. His writing is solid, too, with compositions ranging from old-timey, Jazz Couriers-style swing to placid ballads. Yet the obligatory cover version of a Radiohead tune (a bona fide 21st century jazz cliché) flags up that this is a pretty conservative session. But, to be fair, who's going to buy an album called Unremarkable?