Nicola Roberts – Cinderella’s Eyes review

Well, review #11 (a new review every two days in July!) is late, so I am reviewing something I know fairly well, and a much newer release than most of my previous reviews. I will get right to the review.

Right off the bat, hearing the debut single, “Beat of My Drum”, this is considerably different pop than what she produced as a member of the British girl group Girls Aloud. Much less commercial pop, and more electronic. Sensible, smart pop if you will.

The album pretty much keeps the same feel as the singles, which, chronologically start off the album (“Beat of My Drum”, “Lucky Day”, and “Yo-Yo”), as most of the production is handled by Dimitri Tikovoi. He has worked with Placebo, Goldfrapp, and Sophie Ellis-Bextor among others. “Say It Out Loud”, despite its obvious synth line, is one of the closer ones to Girls Aloud style. “Gladiator” with its “Ding dong ding dong ding dong ding dong” start, is almost reminiscent of Gwen Stefani’s debut single, “What You Waiting For?” (Tick tock tick tock tick tock tick tock, etc,), and it actually feels quite similar as a whole, from the beat up.

The album closes with the emotional track, “Sticks + Stones”, which is about her negative times as one-fifth of Girls Aloud, and people bullying her, calling her “the ugly one”. All while being a member of Girls Aloud, which goes to show how negative the industry can be, putting looks above everything. With its release, she has become an activist for anti-bullying.

As a whole, a welcome change, whereas some other members of Girls Aloud have not strayed from their previous sound, therefore not keeping my interest (what I have heard did not sound appealing). So nice to see her innovating. And every song on the album has merit.