Pixie, Young and Foolish.

Pixie burst onto the pop scene in 2009 with lotts of success thanks to some aggressive marketing. Her first two singles hit number one on the UK charts, the debut album Turn It Up remained a fixture in the official album charts for well over a year and she earned a place in the Guinness World Book of Records. In the short interim, she’s launched multiple fashion lines, starred in movies and collaborated with a wide range of musicians and producers.

 

One might expect then that the talented youngster, who has turned herself to so many tasks successfully, would be able to deliver on the difficult second album: having promised a more mature sound and attacked those who branded her a manufactured pop puppet.

Unfortunately, Young, Foolish, Happy comes off as a clichéd attempt to find a niche in what has become a year eclipsed by Brit leading ladies, with the vocal prowess of Adele or sass of Jessie J. The innocent and fun pop of Turn It Up may have been an antidote to the dominating R’n’B Timbaland and synth partying Black Eyed Peas in 2009, but here the album struggles to find momentum or direction.

Take lead single ‘All About Tonight’, which reads much in the same vein as ‘Boys and Girls’. There is little hint of any progression or change, rather Pixie comes across rather unenthused, uninspired and uncommitted in the lack of middle eight, or the continuous need to remind us “It’s all about tonight” at every opportunity, verse or chorus. Follow up ‘What Do You Take Me For?’ only managed to 'make up' for this, at least for the boys, by providing a video of Pixie in tight leather.

This stereotypical pop base really prevents any movement. Cheesy centric ‘Kiss The Stars’, widely rumoured to be the next single, sounds like a track one may expect to here at a 5 year old’s birthday, but then jars with its euphemisms “Get in position: Put your plug in the socket… when you turn it on I can go for hours.” The rather contradictory tone almost dictates that Pixie doesn’t understand the direction of her new release; which is shame, as a reworking of lyrics and experiment with rock or dub influences (popular trends in the charts) may have proffered a much more interesting listen.

Similarly, numbers akin to ‘Perfect’ and ‘Birthday’, both harmless pieces in themselves, are instantly forgettable and commonplace filler material that the album could do without.

Most disappointingly, Pixie promised a more soulful album, and the maturity doesn’t shine through. Lyrics and ideals of her debut actually spoke more meaningfully about the troubles and strife of young love and life: ‘Gravity’ and ‘Broken Arrow’ both exceptional in this respect.

Where Pixie attempts to imitate this, there are glimmers of hope for the album. ‘Bright Lights’ with Tinchy Stryder actually reflects neatly on chart trends this year, speaking of the hopelessness of city life, its pitfalls and problems masked by the luring lights. ‘Dancing On My Own’ equally talks of the struggles of a relationship formed on dreams, but hit by the problems of money and job loss. These tracks connect with the audience for their true to life form and simplicity.

However, the focus on formulaic pop leaves Pixie out in the cold. Perhaps next time, she shouldn’t spread her career so thin, and consolidate efforts into the production of the album. The two very different sounds on Young, Foolish, Happy clash quite horribly and there needed be a greater exploration and development of one particular area. A mediocre album with only a handful of standout tracks and promise, we guess it’ll be another batch of material heavily promoted by sex appeal.

A + For Ed Sheeran

Both moody and mellow, the first album proper from Ed Sheeran has to live up to a great deal of expectations. Despite having released material for the better part of half a decade now, the young musician has only recently come to light and is now being hailed as one of the most inspiring and talented singer songwriters of his generation.

Broad and sweeping, the release tackles social issues, the idea of self-identity and the problematic twinges of love. 

Sheeran delivers haunting and wholly mesmerising vocals that seem somewhat haggard and worn by years of strife: the album is splattered with regret and retribution in equal measure. No more so is this obvious than the occasionally vicious pre-release ‘You Need Me, I Don’t Need You’, which showcases ability to rap at tongue-twisting, sizzling speeds. (By his own admission, when performing the aforementioned track, he normally is successful in snapping his guitar strings).

Yet, the album is much more interesting and notable once such bravado has been removed. Certainly, the long and difficult lessons of ‘You Need Me’ frame Sheeran’s growth, but the anguish of tracks such as ‘The A Team’ define the musician as coming to the pinnacle of bemoaned success.

For example, a great many of the featured tracks focus on the trails of love amidst attempts of a breakthrough. ‘U.N.I.’ talks of the differences that led to the end of a relationship, and yet with only “a hairband as proof you were here”, the regret hits like a ‘tsunami wave’, such its powerful force. ‘Grade 8’ has a slightly rockier edge granted by the various bouncing drums and piano chords, reflecting in the uncertainty of love: the affections of our musician are the attention of some playfully promiscuous paramour, that so induces “tears of a river filler”, need of “drink for a liver killer”.

Most compassionate and striking of these lost liaisons comes courtesy of ‘Wake Me Up’. In a-capella fashion, Sheeran both demonstrates the soft and hard vocals within his capacity, and delivers a performance that is such a postcard perfect representation of young and idol love, only foreshadowed slightly by the future problems in the breaking of the comedy fairytale ‘Shrek’.

Growing pains of ‘The City’ has the musician a stranger wherever he plays, and this the lesson of a singer who has travelled globally and slept on Jamie Foxx’ sofa. By contrast, the absent baby of ‘Small Bump’, once a map of future plans, taken too soon works in much a best laid plans of mice and men fashion.

Despite the fervent passion evident in Sheeran’s tracks and topics, the flaw of + is that by the close of the album, all this overwhelming onset of weary emotions becomes overbearing and somewhat repetitive, typified by the longing of ‘Kiss Me’. 

Shamefully, a great many of the tracks have their moments of pent up anger, where Sheeran spits and seemingly foams at his microphone, but the hatred lacks direction. Despite the best efforts of quirky ‘Grade 8’ and upfront ‘You Need Me’, there were a great many missed opportunities for inclusion of some rockier numbers: a feature piece for electric guitar, or dark rolling 80s synth would have added an additional dimension that not only would have interested a more diverse fan base, but would also have solidified Sheeran as a compatible artist from his first release and channeled those heavier, moodier vibes (consider features on records with Wiley and Wretch 32 as reason behind this opinion of latter lack of inspiration). 

Whilst the range of the album is also rather pleasantly surprising, there are occasions when lack of considered lyrics unbalances a song. ‘Wake Me Up’ cringingly fumbles through its second verse by recommending a back up VCR, due to lack of Blu-Ray. ‘Kiss Me’ suggests that whilst “falling into your eyes… I’ll forget I’m in love”, all too stereotyped and cheesy after other brash tracks on this release.

However, with continued success and recognition comes the opportunity to experiment in new areas and hopefully Sheeran will consolidate his achievements so far whilst delivering a sound equally as impressive and capturing next time. Indeed, with such an extensive back catalogue, this offering is merely but a taster of the man’s talents, finally being recognised after remaining an underground secret for so many years. There is no doubt that the elevator doors of ‘You Need Me’ will ping open in time for Ed to deliver an even superior 'load' when the follow up is released.