Estelle - All of Me

Nearly 5 years ago now the seminal American Boy was dropped and everyone seemed to go mental. The world was a simpler place - the Friday Night Project was very much "a thing", Gavin and Stacey had just started (and featured characters reproducing the Kanye verse word-for-word) and Lady GaGa was only just on the verge of breaking out of underground New York. It won a Grammy and ended up on many best-of-the-decade lists, but in the process became a bit irritating for Estelle: “Sometimes I get off stage and want to punch people,” she told the Washington Post. Some of us might remember as far back as her breakthrough - the single 1980 was as summery and infectious as American Boy but only enjoyed mid-table chart success. Still, 8 years on and Estelle's still courting cross-atlantic attention, and to only put out 3 albums in that time demands respect.

Straight away she commands attention with the self-referential 'The Life', namedropping Tinie Tempah, 1980 and Kanye, all the while asserting a global need to keep it real. Not exactly groundbreaking stuff (especially the "You can take your opinions and eat cheese" line (?!)) but with an almost eurodance beat it's a solid start. Chris Brown and Trey Songz turn up on 'International (Serious)', a finely-tuned pop song that at times falls foul of turning into a Chris Brown song with Estelle featured. The beat is pretty weak and there sadly isn't much melody about it either. Small interludes featuring Estelle talking with friends and colleagues about their journey and thoughts feel a little contrived on 'You and I', 'Don't Break It', 'Found My Way' and 'Blue Skies'.


Estelle's conversational tone is easily apparent on 'Love the Way We Used To', a cute summery tune that finds Swaray sounding a little like Kelly Rowland (pre-2011 disaster). A slight ragtime melody gives it a nice pop edge, too, before 'Cold Crush' harks back to early 2000s R&B. The beat is pretty inoffensive, and the chorus has a slight hook about it, but it's unlikely to trouble iTunes' servers. Not that that's an insult nowadays, of course, and the track is in fact mildly enjoyable. It's 'Break Your Heart' and its gorgeously chilled beats though that stands out on All of Me. So smooth it makes Rick Ross sound like Luther Vandross, it's a perfect summer pop song.

'Thank You', having just scraped into the Billboard Hot 100 (at... #100), echoes the digital-soul sounds recently mastered by the likes of Thundercat and Janelle Monáe and uses a nice sample to get across its single potential. As far as R&B songs called 'Thank You' go, though, this is no Jamelia. 'Wonderful Life' goes straight for the upbeat piano-jugular, which might be a little dated in terms of mainstream success, but she cements herself a cute tune about taking solace in a manicure in the process. Other single 'Back to Love' sounds a heck of a lot like Coldplay's Viva la Vida in terms of its rhythm and strings backing, but its vocal stylings and beat place it more in the bracket of a kids TV theme tune. It's cute, but quite forgettable.

'Speak Ya Mind' displays Estelle at her feistiest with some brass literally thrown in for a bit of gusto. The chorus again falls back on a chirpy piano tune, though, and its initial energy lags accordingly. Nonetheless it's a strong, memorable tune until the slightly self-indulgent spoken outro (featuring hand-clapping and "that's who I am" amongst other buzzwords). Monáe herself appears on the closing track 'Do My Thang' and effortlessly outshines Sharay, the track an assured and infectious finale to an otherwise unstable album.


The album seems quite a fair reflection of Estelle's career - a handful of solid hits interspersed between safe bores and uninteresting boasts and self-assuring statements. At its best, though, Estelle boasts a knack for crossing multiple genres - she can spit verses ably, but her singing and production is also at times spot on. She just needs to reign in the pouting and the attitude and she'd have a great on her hands.

Rating: 6/10
Highlights: Break Your Heart, Do My Thang, Love the Way We Used To, Cold Crush, The Life
Avoid: The spoken interludes, International (Serious)

Artwork Watch: I think we'll forgive the boring choice of "a photo of myself" for an album titled ALL OF ME won't we?