Back To Scratch

I probably don’t need to tell you that the new Charlotte Church album isn’t a beautiful dark twisted fantasy, but I should warn you that parts of it are so humdrum you may find yourself pining for a coked-up Amy Winehouse to zhush the damned thing up (if you don’t know the thoroughly mad duet I’m referring to, get yourself to a viral video vendor, pronto)!
But perhaps I’m getting a little ahead of myself. Let’s look at our subject. At only 24 years old, this Welsh wonder’s had a pretty hectic life, and she’s got two children, a handful of job titles (child star, author, reality show judge, gobby chat show host...) and a failed marriage to rugby goon Gavin Henson to show for it. In fairness to the girl, she hasn’t had much time for figuring out what kind of pop star she wants to be.
With 2005’s Tissues And Issues, Church graduated from cherub-voiced child prodigy to slinky pop maven, whereas this time around, she seems to fancy herself as a bit of a sultry chanteuse. ‘Logical World’ begins with a hint of Serge Gainsbourg’s ‘Bonnie And Clyde’, while her version of crackly lovesong ‘Ruby’, originally recorded by Parisian torch singer Camille, is smoky as you like. She even throws in a tender version of Joni Mitchell classic ‘River’ for good measure.
Elsewhere, ‘Don’t Think About It’ has a forced rustic feel, but actually proves to be one of the album’s more interesting moments. Ditto ‘Cup Of The Sun’ – a twee countrified ditty that bears some minor honky tonk charm. For all its schmaltzy strings, ‘Snow’ ain’t half bad either, and folky ballad ‘Love Drunk’ is brimming with vibey handclaps, making it the closest Back To Scratch gets to a hit (Tissues And Issues had ‘Crazy Chick’, at least).
Clearly, Char’s voice is in fine fettle, but that doesn’t mean it’s always particularly pleasant on the ear. Showstopping belters suit the Church pastiche to a tee, as do intimate, hushed numbers, but anything in the middle just veers into backing singer territory. Maybe if she’d adopted a defined persona – folk-rock diva in vein of Stevie Nicks or soul diva in vein of Chaka Khan – we’d take her a bit more seriously. She’s certainly got the pipes for any number of different guises but, as she says on ‘Logical World’, she’s a mixed up girl.
Key Track: ‘Don’t Think About It’