Estelle - All Of Me (02/04/2012)
Compared to her smash-hit debut album Shine, Estelle's follow-up All Of Me lacks the sass and punch of the former. With a few notable exceptions, this LP is bland by comparison. 'Speak Ya Mind' has some of her familiar spunk, with its brass-infused R&B vibe. It is catchy in the way that pop/R&B should be, with it's funky electronic piano riff and Estelle's London flavoured conversational singing style.
'Wonderful Life' belongs on a romantic comedy soundtrack – it's mid-tempo schmaltzy pop, and it's actually one of the best on the album. Also falling into this category is 'Back To Love', which is the up-tempo version of the rom-com soundtrack bite. (Although strangely it does sound like it has been sped up, as if for commercial radio).
First single 'Break Your Heart' featuring Rick Ross is one of the album highlights – a smooth R&B jam, complete with rap and of course Estelle's honey vocals. It's always disappointing when the first single is not indicative of the calibre of the rest of the album, and unfortunately this is the case with All Of Me. The album is dotted with soppy spoken interludes about relationships and the occasional monologue about choosing ones own path (cringe), which serve the purpose of carving the album into awkward chunks of 2 or 3 songs.
There is nothing gritty or 'urban' about this release, apart from perhaps 'International (Serious)', a collaboration with Chris Brown and Trey Songz. With it's drum-heavy, bass-driven flavour and male falsetto chorus it is one of the more interesting moments on All Of Me. It is the sort of tune that would fill the dance-floor of an R&B club with some serious grinding.
There is no 'American Boy' on All Of Me, but then again there is no Kanye collaboration. This is the song that shot Estelle into superstardom, topping charts and earning her a Grammy. There is, however, the Lily Allen-esque 'Love The Way We Used To' – cutesy auto-tuned pop that is a bit of harmless fun.
Estelle's sophomore release is by no means groundbreaking, but if you are after some easy-listening pop/R&B that is inoffensive and offers a small handful of treats (and some motivational spoken word) All Of Me is worth a listen.
Rebecca McCann
'Wonderful Life' belongs on a romantic comedy soundtrack – it's mid-tempo schmaltzy pop, and it's actually one of the best on the album. Also falling into this category is 'Back To Love', which is the up-tempo version of the rom-com soundtrack bite. (Although strangely it does sound like it has been sped up, as if for commercial radio).
First single 'Break Your Heart' featuring Rick Ross is one of the album highlights – a smooth R&B jam, complete with rap and of course Estelle's honey vocals. It's always disappointing when the first single is not indicative of the calibre of the rest of the album, and unfortunately this is the case with All Of Me. The album is dotted with soppy spoken interludes about relationships and the occasional monologue about choosing ones own path (cringe), which serve the purpose of carving the album into awkward chunks of 2 or 3 songs.
There is nothing gritty or 'urban' about this release, apart from perhaps 'International (Serious)', a collaboration with Chris Brown and Trey Songz. With it's drum-heavy, bass-driven flavour and male falsetto chorus it is one of the more interesting moments on All Of Me. It is the sort of tune that would fill the dance-floor of an R&B club with some serious grinding.
There is no 'American Boy' on All Of Me, but then again there is no Kanye collaboration. This is the song that shot Estelle into superstardom, topping charts and earning her a Grammy. There is, however, the Lily Allen-esque 'Love The Way We Used To' – cutesy auto-tuned pop that is a bit of harmless fun.
Estelle's sophomore release is by no means groundbreaking, but if you are after some easy-listening pop/R&B that is inoffensive and offers a small handful of treats (and some motivational spoken word) All Of Me is worth a listen.
Rebecca McCann