Cher Lloyd - Sticks & Stones
With debut Sticks & Stones, Cher Lloyd aims to silence critics with an under whelming, but somehow charming, debut.
Before we begrudgingly give The X Factor star any credit, it has to be said that he vocals are still just as jarring at times, combined with an often embarrassing flow with her rhymes.
That said, she shows something a little special across the ten tracks that make up her debut.
Whilst the painfully cliched lyrics on album-opener 'Grow Up' are an immediate turn-off, the album has enough flashes to create interest in whatever Lloyd manages to do next.
Sticks & Stones does best when Lloyd fully explores her style, and songs like 'Over The Moon' are toe-tappingly catchy.
Fans of her Number 1 hit 'Swagger Jagger' will love what's on offer here, with tracks like 'Playa Boi' following a similar formula with equally solid results.
For those who never understood the popularity of the songs, it's just as mind-boggling in the context of the album.
Her vocals are never decent enough to be described as "good", and her rhymes do lack something in their delivery, but she's laid a solid foundation for the future.
It just feels a little plain on songs like 'End Up Here', although the album-closer is one of the record's better moments.
Whilst Cher Lloyd hasn't created a pop masterpiece (far from it), Sticks & Stones is, at times, a refreshing break from the tired, boring X Factor mould.
Female First - Alistair McGeorge
Tagged in The X Factor Cher Lloyd