Story Highlight

Gary reviews Charlene Soraia's debut album

Gary Vincent kicks off the New Year by reviewing Charlene Soraia’s debut album Moonchild, get the lowdown here…

Croydon’s Brit School has form when it comes to turning out stars. Adele, Amy Winehouse, Leona Lewis and Katie Melua (to name but four) found fame will a little help from its tutors. Another name may about to be added to the list, that of Charlene Soraia, though it will take a lot more than just this album to make her as popular as them.                                                     

If you know this south London lady at all, it will be through her acoustic cover of The Calling’s hit ‘Wherever You Will Go’, which was almost guaranteed success when a certain tea company made it the soundtrack to their TV commercial late last year. Disappointingly it’s just about the best track on this rather insipid collection.

I always think an artist, especially one who’s being introduced on a debut album like this one, should start a collection with their strongest songs. The first song on this album however, ‘When We Were Five’ sounds like some sort of self-indulgent experimental jumble (she’s into prog rock, which may explain things), and lasts for well over six minutes. It’s not really representative of what follows but in this easily distracted digital world I wonder how many will have the patience to still be with her by track 2, a lovely Joni Mitchell-type ballad called ‘Daffodils’, which would make for a timely second single in the spring? ‘Rowing’ is another ballad, which leans towards the vocal style of Nerina Pallot - no bad thing, if you’re familiar with her work. The pace picks up on ‘Lightyears’ and ‘Meadow Child, but many of the ballads that follow seem to merge into one another with few, if any standouts. The hit song is last on the collection and at least serves the purpose of helping you to forget the few that went before.

On the strength of ‘Wherever You Will Go’ I really wanted to like this album, and once you’re past the first track there’s nothing here to offend, but that’s hardly a glowing reference, is it? If Charlene can produce a more mainstream follow-up, she may end up on as many shelves and hard-drives as those aforementioned Brit School stars.

Gary’s verdict: I give this album 2 out of 5