Diana Vickers - Songs from the Tainted Cherry Tree (REVIEW)
Tuesday, 04 May 2010
Written by Ginny Bullmore
Let's get The X Factor out of the way first. Diana's finished with it and moved on, and that's exactly what we should be doing. It may have been an effective platform for her, but that's all it was - a platform, not the be all and end all of her musical career.
The fact that she hasn't signed with Simon Cowell and produced an album full of Ryan Tedder penned ballads should be more than enough to prove that Diana is doing things her own way, and doing it well.
The album is full of collaborations - Vickers' vocal twin, Ellie Goulding, contributed to three of the songs, bringing Diana bang on trend with her unique brand of breathy electronica; Cathy Dennis, the songwriting powerhouse behind Kylie's 'Can't Get You Out of My Head', wrote the lead single 'Once', and even Starsmith features on 'You'll Never Get To Heaven.' This should, by rights, make the album a stuttering mish mash of sounds, but luckily Vickers' voice is so unique that it creates an impressive veneer of fluidity.
Stand-out tracks include 'Put it Back Together', a Nerina Pallot written ballad that showcases Diana's voice perfectly and allows her to flaunt her ethereal upper register, and the equally touching 'N.U.M.B'. However, that's not to say that the upbeat tracks aren't equally as good - 'The Boy Who Murdered Love' has a chorus just as catchy as her current single, and her cover of The Sugarcubes 'Hit' is a prime example of bringing your own slant to a song without stripping it of all its original character.
Upon first listen, it was extremely hard not to be cynical about this album, trying to imagine her managers' and producers' motives behind every song choice, and envisioning board meetings with people in pinstriped suits deciding how to market their latest signing. However, put all preconceptions aside - Diana cowrote almost all of the tracks on her outstanding debut album, and deserves kudos for doing so.
She's definitely benefited from her semi finalist status, and is now ready to become a winner in a much wider field, with some truly great songs. and that voice.
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Stand-out tracks include 'Put it Back Together', a Nerina Pallot written ballad that showcases Diana's voice perfectly and allows her to flaunt her ethereal upper register, and the equally touching 'N.U.M.B'. However, that's not to say that the upbeat tracks aren't equally as good - 'The Boy Who Murdered Love' has a chorus just as catchy as her current single, and her cover of The Sugarcubes 'Hit' is a prime example of bringing your own slant to a song without stripping it of all its original character.
