Since the release of Paloma Faith’s 2009 debut, the whole female retro-soul thing has gone a bit mental thanks to Adele shifting 40 zillion albums or something. Comparisons are therefore unavoidable, and fans of the genre will be singing along to the abundance of uplifting poppy ballads on offer, a few of which will no doubt be bothering the airwaves all summer.
The cover indicates that we’re dealing with big budget here: it’s so exotic there are parrots on it. Faith is a pop star, there’s no doubting that. She’s glamorous enough for fashion mags and as quirky as Florence Welch, and her ambitions as a songwriter are evident with the recruitment of Madonna and Bjork producer Jake Gosling, who does a fine job and doesn’t allow the tracks to be bogged down with too many instruments or effects.
“Do you think of me, when you’re with her?,” asks the opening line of the album. It’s from lead single ‘Picking up the Pieces’ and it sets a theme of failed and faltering relationships that are typical of the genre. Maybe this is why it all just seems a bit too familiar and unadventurous. From synth-pop to piano balladry, it follows convention rather than sets it.
‘Just Be’ is undoubtedly a future single. Sole piano and a pained vocal paint a picture of a tortured young woman who is “worn out with frustration, heartache and anger”. If Adele’s journey to megastardom was fuelled by ‘Someone Like You’, then Faith’s future may well hang on the success of this song. It’s the highlight of an album of radio-friendly balladry that falters as it progresses. But when it’s strong, it shows enough evidence that Paloma Faith’s star is soon to shine brighter.
Fall to Grace is released next week on RCA.
Posted by Kevin Scott
