Voice like Adele, style like Janelle Monae, and soul like Gladys Knight is another way to describe the Aberdeenshire, Scotland bred singer Emeli Sande and her debut album Our Version of Events. Before dropping in 2011, Sande had already written for some of UK's top artists like Leona Lewis, Cheryl Cole, and Tinie Tempah. With her foot already in the industy's door and a series of great writing for other well known acts, Sande dropped her debut album in 2011 and reached critical acclaim with her lead single "Heaven"(an uptempo ballad that starts with a haunting keyboard intro and later led by a rhythmic drumbeat). Although "Heaven" sets Sande apart from the popular female acts of today whose message bluntly centers around "love", this track sounds very similar to a Leona Lewis song that was thrown off her album at the last minute. The rest of the album follows with a more somber and serious mood focusing on ballads with the theme of love until you reach the uptempo of "Next to Me".
I am not sure whether it is the rush to put out an album before taking the time to work on a cohesive project, but it seems that Our Version of Events is a mix of throw away tracks and industry standards of ballads that would sell. For those who expect "Heaven" to set the tone or characteristic of the rest of the album will be sadly disappointed. There is a mix of upbeat to dark tracks, more darker tones than any other and seems thrown together to please the general public as a means to compete with the top international female acts of today; Leona Lewis, Adele, Cheryl Cole, Susan Boyle, etc. I will not give up on Sande to deliver great work but I am a little disappointed in her first effort.
"Heaven"
"Next to Me"
"Where I sleep"
No comments:
Post a Comment