Nerina Pallot: The Graduate
Nerina Pallot: The Graduate
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Thursday, 08, Oct 2009 04:48
Echo, out now.
In a nutshell...
Bland, uninspired, monotonous pop.
What's it all about?
Ten fluffy self-produced tracks from Ms Pallot who returns to the scene after taking a break to achieve a degree in English Literature and settle down with her husband.
Who's it by?
Nerina Pallot was nominated for a Brit award for Best British Female in 2007; she has written music for Kylie; had tracks from previous albums declared Record of the Week on both Radio 1 and 2, and she has worked with pop icons such as Linda Perry who produces hits for the likes of Christina Aguilera and Pink over a single cappuccino.
As an example..
"When did I become such a bitch?"
Likelihood of a trip to the Grammys
If she's already received a Brit nomination and an Ivor Novello nomination, perhaps this album will also appeal to the powers that be. However, I suspect her record companies deserved a lot of the credit for those nominations, as her own content from The Graduate doesn't shine nearly as brightly.
What the others say
"Although oddly old-fashioned in its crisp, straight-ahead, non-indie approach to pop, this Jersey-born singer-songwriter's third album is a cracker." - 4/5, Martin Townsend, Sunday Express
"It's just a little too sickly sweet to stomach." - 4/10, Rachel Preece, The Music Magazine
So is it any good?
It's high time this generation produced a female singer with a top-notch voice who isn't afraid to sing about real life and real emotions; somebody who inspires and gives us real hope that our lives do have greater meaning and love really is all around. This is a big ask, and so if it can't be met, I will happily accept a young woman with a decent voice who can throw out some catchy tunes that will cheer me up as the radio pipes them out thoughtlessly each morning.
Nerina Pallot is neither of these things, and I'm not sure what else she could be trying to be. This album drips out of the stereo from start to finish, never managing to hold my attention for more than a phrase. "Everything's illuminated," Pallot tells us in track one; is it really? I haven't had to listen to anything in a long time that blended so easily with the dull grey British sky as easily as this album.
The Graduate is a follow up to two albums released by record companies. This third release is branded as Pallot's 'coming of age' work; in which she really discovers herself and her own voice; supposedly this approach is an alternative to pandering to the money as on the first two albums.
Unfortunately I think it might have been the money that was holding the show together. Pallot's own voice sounds far too much like that of every other young woman; only most of us have the good sense to keep it to ourselves, for the simple reason that it isn't very interesting.
Perhaps if your vocal chords are up to it, you could make the mundane beautiful. But Nerina Pallot is not gifted with a voice of such quality. She's pretty and tuneful, but she doesn't capture hearts and whilst her rambling lyrics are a bit of fun, they seem to be trying desperately to reveal to us something we already know all too well.
2/10
Eleanor Ward