Siobhan Donaghy - Ghosts.

The lost Sugababe returns with her second solo release, once again trying to shake off those 'pop' stains.
I listened to an interview with her around the time of the release of the first single, with promises of diversity and a distinctive leftfield approach. I can only wonder what album she was referring to.

It's a very ear friendly album, no doubt about that, but there's a distinct lack of songs that grab the listener by the throat and throttle them until they hit the repeat button.

I really liked the first single "Don't give it up" from the first time I heard it. Spikey keyboards, great percussion and a wonderful teasing way she sings each line. Lot's of over-lay on her vocals and some clever mixing make this stand out from the usual crowd and it was the overall mellow-ness of the track that got me hooked.

"So you say", "There's a place", "Make it right" and "Coming up for air" are all pleasant enough songs. Delivered in a Sheryl Crow/Cardigans style with the occasional wash of strings to retain the interest, however there's nothing really special or different about them. She does seem to use these more traditional arrangements to showcase her vocal talents and sometimes she meanders in a lovely style. It's just not enough.

Where the album picks up is on the tracks that have a more unusual feel to them. Presumably these are what she describes as 'left field'. "Halcyon days" tips a hat to Massive Attack, "Ghosts" presents clever backwards trickery and is what I imagine Bjork would sound like if she collaborated with Groove Armada and "12 bar acid blues" begins as a Crow then gets swallowed up by electronica. "Sometimes" has some great lush production, I just wish she'd written different lyrics because quite frankly....they suck. And "Medevac", whilst having a interesting sound to it, sounds far too similar to "Don't give it up". She sings the line "If only you could...." and it's just begging for a loop or sample from Kate Bush.

"Goldfish" deserves a mention on it's own, purely for the humour factor. Programmed drums, plonking keyboards, nice backing vocals all fine. But every now and then we are treated to what I can only describe as Ross from Friends playing his keyboard. There's washy noises, zips, bangs, pops and buzzes that do everything they can to conjure up that episode of Friends when Ross shows everyone his 'keyboard skills'.

I was kinda hoping for an outstanding album, particularly on the basis of the lead single and her own comments on the rest of the tracks. Instead I've got a slightly disjointed collection of songs that are pleasant enough to listen to, but sadly lacking in the choke-hold factor.

Try some of these on for size:
Don't give it up
Ghosts
Halcyon days
12 bar acid blues
There's a place
Sometimes

Currently filed in the 'Mellow me out' folder.