Edit: Never mind. Only 5 reviews have actually been written (while many more claim to have reviews already since 1-2 days ago but haven't posted them).
After a long wait, 3 years Pixie finally returns to music scene with her new album, which she simply titled “Pixie Lott” Pixie Lott with this album wants to show people what music she truly loves, her label wanted her to do “All About Tonight” type of music, but she stayed with her heart and did more soulful, retro, throwback record. And well it’s very good, in at least my opinion.
The album starts with a hot tracks “Nasty” the albums first single as we all know it was Christina’s song, but because of all the demos they dropped it, so Pixie fought hard for it, and put it on her album, and made it a lead single. It’s actually a great song, I love how fresh, and dancy this track is, Pixie did a good job on this one. After Nasty, Lay Me Down follows, and album gets even better, the song is just so good, the vocals, the chorus everything fits so well, probably Pixie’s best song to date, everything about it just screams good, and smash (that was snubbed by UK radios)
Suddenly we jump into sad mood with break up song, Pixie’s beautiful vocals shine a bit in this, she sounds confident and sweet, the lyrics might be eh, but it’s indeed a fine song, not the best but fits album well. In the end it fades, but still good for a few listens. Champions jumps in with the retro vibe, funky, and cheeky vocals, and it’s definitely one of my fave songs from Pix, so catchy, fun and great. I have never liked these type of throwback songs, but it’s honestly a fantastic song, with great lyrics, and fun vibe. After Champion we get kind of similar beginning “Kill A Man” Pixie just says “pack yo **** and leave” and I love it, she sounds fierce, confident, and strong, and I just adore how great this song actually is, one of the catchier tunes of the album, a rare sounds these days, and well it surprises me how good it is.
Again we jump into sad mood, with this Ed Sheeran type of song “Ain’t Got You” the best ballad on the album in my opinion it’s up there with “Cry and Smile” Pixie’s shows her soft and sad voice in this song, her vocals shine a bit in this song, not only she expressed her feelings she also touched my heart with it. Heart Cry, beautifully with drums appear to us as a next song, and it sounds incredibly great, and it prepares us to another pack of ballads, aren’t that great. It’s actually a very great song, and stands out in the album the whistles accompany song well, and I just like this song.
Uhh, now we enter ballad era, and it’s pretty boring, especially Bang and Ocean, Raise Up shines in this trio, Ocean, has a few great moments, but it goes nowhere, it sounds a bit messy, her vocals get lost in this songs, and it’s probably my least favorite song from the album, of course after Bang. Bang a heck, boring crap, everything is a bit bizarre, and it’s just like a cigarette, you smoke it, and drop it, it’s just a bland track, should have chosen another song for the standard edition. As I said Raise Up stands out from these three, it’s in the middle, and it’s instrumental is so amazing, the instrumentals is great because it lets Pixie’s vocals shine, and doesn’t hide them, great track.
The album is ends with two pretty and sad songs, both songs are definitely beautiful, and are perfect closers, Pixie delivers on Leaving You, her soulful vocals shine, and Pixie is definitely showing a lot of feeling, not as much as on “cry and smile” but girl still touches your heart, beautiful. The last song “ry and Smile” is for sure one of my faves from album, the only acapella start sounds amazing, and it’s something different from other musicians. The song is very emotional, because if you would have the album you could see in booklet, Pixie’s grandma’s photo, yes Pixie grandma died and she wrote this song just for her, and it’s just incredibly sad, and pretty. The song is just emotional wreck, and will for sure melt you heart.
Overall the album is a huge step up for Pixie, she really shows that she indeed is a soulful and passionate girl. The album is a pleasant surprise, and it keeps on growing for me every day, loves it.
with her 3rd studio record, Pixie succeeds to underbid her last record quality wise, which is far from being a good omen.
the album kicks off with the lackluster x tina demo and first single "Nasty", in which she even imitates the legends voice.
Sadly the song probably counts as one of the standout tracks, cause it at least serves an catchy chorus.
However the following track "Lay Me Down" outshines the whole record with its fresh summer feeling and a bridge that somehow reminds me of "We Found Love".
From there on It just goes straight downhill. Songs like "Champion" or "Kill A Men" start off promising, but ending up as a snooze fest with a lukewarm chorus. "Heart Cry" whereas tried one last time to showcase her vocals and what the album could have been.
Through the whole record I felt like Pixie tried way to hard to imitate soul divas like Duffy, Amy Winehouse or Christina Aguilera rather then being her own individuum.
The of the other main issues about the self titled album is that nearly everything about it is 2nd hand, from the vocals right up to the meterial itself.
Pixie Lott by Pixie Lott
Pixie Lott is a UK act with a few #1s under her belt who has failed numerous times to properly crossover to the United States like so many of her contemporaries have done successfully. Her voice, not necessarily her vocal range, is a nice blend of Christina Aguilera, Demi Lovato, and Jessie J with a light touch of Natasha Bedingfield here and there. Fans of those four can definitely salvage some great songs out of her mostly lackluster discography.
"Nasty", the lead single and opening track to Lott's self-titled third album, is a deceiving first single. The track is very upbeat and fun with both its lyrics and production and she does a great job of showing off her voice throughout the song. The track overall is quality and reminiscent of Back to Basics and Burlesque Christina Aguilera which makes sense considering the track was originally an Aguilera demo that was ultimately passed on after issues with sample clearance.
What is so deceiving about "Nasty" is that Pixie Lott is nowhere near as great as "Nasty". Yes, the album is in a similar throwback vein as "Nasty" with both its uptempos and ballads (which, noted, is why the album is very cohesive), but, similar to Lott's discography, Pixie Lott has just as many bad songs as it does good ones. There is no in between.
Tracks like the clever and hypersexual "Champion" and the Demi Lovato-esque "Raise Up" are among the best and "Lay Me Down", "Break Up Song", and "Ain't Got You" are also standout tracks. Meanwhile, the rest of the album has songs that lack an edge to them ("Heart Cry" and "Bang"), are poorly executed ("Kill A Man" and "Oceans"), and have no replay value ("Leave You" and "Cry And Smile".)
Despite the album being self-titled, Pixie Lott fails to make me feel like she has opened her heart to us and is sharing something personal with us. The album is no different from her past releases sans more cohesion. Her debut album Turn It Up and her sophomore follow up Young Foolish Happy are plagued by filler-like tracks that pull down the overall quality of each of the albums. Lott, as an artist, lacks the ability to add personality to the music she makes thus making her sound like she is simply covering songs by other artists without any knowledge or understanding of the meaning to them.
Pixie truly shines the best when she works with producer/songwriter Mads Hauge. While I am not a fan of "Kiss the Stars", their other collaborations are amazing: "Mama Do (Uh Oh, Uh Oh)", "Cry Me Out", "Boys and Girls", "Perfect", and now the aforementioned "Champion".
Even with all that being said, I feel like Pixie Lott is Lott's best album. Its redeeming quality is that it has a great deal of cohesion, allowing for an easy listening experience despite the polarizing quality of the music.
This is not school though. Why would 6/10 be a failing grade? That clearly dismisses a scores of 1-5 because they've been grouped as "fail". You might as well be grading on a scale of 1-5 (or ABCDF) because you'd only be using 5 numbers(or letters) anyway.
Please read that in a pleasant tone because this sounded much more harsher after I typed it than when I created the response in my head Grade the way you want,
Quote:
Originally posted by alexanderao
For me I have to disagree. A 1 is a really bad song, like CTS. A 3.5 or so is bad but not horrific. A 5 is ok, a 7 is good, and a 9 is excellent. 9's/10's usually only come around a dozen times a year.
It simply is the way I have decided to do my reviews. Just like other websites, blogs, and reviews have different ways of coming up with their scores, we will as well.
And I actually do score tracks, for the most part, on a scale of 1-5 then convert it to the 10 scale because I want my reviews to be consistent with my album scores. So, 3 = 6, 3.5 = 7, etc. I was trying to point out that we all different reasons for giving a song a score, so I am not a fan of the idea that you can look over someone's scores and be like, "Yeah, this person deserves a spot in the Top Critics." and so on.
I don't mind giving scores lower than 3/5 or 6/10, but I don't feel like the majority of my scores will not be like that due to the way I come up with a score in my head.
Sorry for the late reply btw.
EDIT: I overused the word just in this post. I'm glad I read it over again and made an edit.
Pixie Lott is the third studio album from the British pop artist. As an album, it is brief, streamlined and to the point, sounding inspired by the mid 2000s retro soul movement (think Duffy, Amy Winehouse, Christina Aguilera circa Back to Basics). However, where many of the mid 2000s albums by Duffy, Amy, and Christina had some type of edge and grit, Pixie has bubblegum and sugar coating. The bubblegum Motown flavoring throughout the album isn’t necessarily a bad thing, the music is definitely fun and it’s easy to picture Pixie with a big smile on her face as she sings every song on the album because she delivers each line with a bubbly energy.
Pixie’s infectious happiness is the main flaw and drawback on an otherwise solid pop album. Most skilled performers will be able to sell the emotion required of the songs they are singing, but each of Pixie’s songs are delivered with her ecstatic spunk even on songs titled “Heart Cry” and “Break Up Song” that would be definite highlights if sold with the proper emotion. Still, the songs are great if the emotional monotone doesn’t get in the way, “Ocean,” could compete with Bruno Mars’s best and “Nasty,” is easily the best Christina Aguilera song in years, and “Raise Up,” sounds like something P!nk would kill for. It is difficult to determine Pixie’s personality from these songs besides “happy singer,” so it is easier to hear the artist that inspired the song rather than it is to hear Pixie and much of the album sounds like karoke over another artist’s song, the exception is the last track "Cry and Smile," which is delivered with some emotional conviction that makes the song a definite standout. Overall, the album is a solid and fun listen but limited by Pixie’s emotional range and lack of artistic personality (her vocals are on point throughout though); however, with some more skilled interpretation Pixie could easily release some great pop albums.
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After the release of Young Foolish Happy, Pixie disappeared from the Media and was forgotten until she announced her Third Album "Pixie Lott". I was so happy and thrilled because Pixie Lott is my favorite British singer besides Cher Lloyd, I've been waiting for that album forever and my thoughts were that it's going to be so different and will be one of my best albums so far in 2014. I will review this album Track by Track including the Bonus ones and will include the final score.
Nasty: When the song released in January, i was so excited for it, the song started with a retro beat which was a good thing to start a song with because this beginning was making me dance, her vocals fitted the song well, not perfect but deserved a bit changes, best thing to start an album with. 8.5/10 Lay Me Down: The song started with the whistling beat which reminded me of Britney's Iconic Song "Hold It Against Me" and that was a perfect choice, the chorus was everything, it's so catchy and is the "We Found Love" of the album and it's possibly the best song in this Album. 10/10 Break Up Song: This song wasn't horrible but not my favorite song of the album, i feel like the songs gets better after every listen so it's unpredictable, the chorus isn't my favorite in the song but the Pre-Chorus was the thing that saved the song from being bad and boring. 5/10 Champion: The song is so good and has a catchy Chorus but so forgettable so it won't be the best but the Chorus was maybe one of the best "I'll Be Your Champion" might me my motto to other guys 7/10 Kill a Man: This song is my Lady Jam and will be in every dance playlist because words can't describe my feelings every time i listen to it, the ending was a bit messy and i was talking about the clapping at the end. 8/10 Ain't Got You: This song gave me Christina Aguilera tease, the vocals in every word shocked me, it needs to be a single because the Chorus is giving me life and i was so thankful that Pixie recorded this masterpiece, "If I Ain't Got You" Part kills me every time i listen to it, Just Perfection . 10/10 Heart Cry: The perfect dance song in this album, when i listened to it in 2013 it was my jam and one of my most played songs that year, the verses, Pre-Chorus and Chorus were perfect and a phrase that i keep repeating daily is "You Think That Love Is A Sin" . 8/10 Ocean: When Pixie released this i was so excited for it to be as good as Nasty, but it turned to be a disappointment, maybe the Chorus was the best, but it wasn't that good, the beats were Basic & Messy, and Pixie's Vocals wasn't perfect for this song and the Beats made it worse tbh. 4.5/10 Raise Up: "YAAAAS Pixie YAAAAS" That was my feeling when i listened to it, i was freaking out and shocked, this is the song I've been waiting for, and it finally came, the Chorus was every thing i wanted and is by far one of the best songs in this Perfect Album!! . 10/10 Bang: This song is not my favorite for sure, it didn't make sense but the First Verse and The Chorus might be the only things i liked about this song, i don't know how to describe it. 5/10 Leaving You & Cry and Smile: I Decided to review both of these songs because they are the worst on this album and i wanted to say that Pixie was so crazy to record them, without these two songs the album will be so perfect. Both 2/10 (Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher: This song is a fun, catchy song that might be Church related idk I'm Muslim but the song is so good that you would like to sing-a-long and become the most perfect Diva on earth. 7/10 Cry Baby: The ending is so close and i'm sick of writing so i would just say that the song wasn't bad, it was okay tbh, idk how to describe it, boring maybe. 5/10 The Girl You Left Behind: The song reminds me of the 50's, Jazz isn't Pixie's Genre and she can't make it good but "Do You Wonder About The Girl" is so so so catchy and that is making the song a bit more better 5.5/10 Nasty Feat. The Vamps: Oh My God, my faves in one song is killing me, i was crying so bad when i listened to it, it was on repeat for days, maybe weeks, this was so good and is the best song on this Iconic album and a great finale, The Vamps sounded so hot in the Chorus, this was the reason why i stan for them. 10/10
Overall, this album is one of the best or the best album of 2014, so many bops and future hits Pixie slayed hard in this album and i might buy a million copies till it reach Platinum. This album is a must listen and my favorite songs are "Lay Me Down, Ain't Got You, Raise Up, Nasty F/ The Vamps". You Bitches better buy this Iconic Album
We all have those artists on our CD shelf you loved for one album and you were super excited for but then they let you down or you lose track of them. I've quite a collection of them: Uffie, Little Boots, Sky Ferreira, Ke$ha,... and yes Pixie Lott is one of them. I was basically in love with her when she got big with "Mama Do" and "Boys and Girls" so I bought her debut "Turn It Up", which I loved. Then for some reason I didn't care for her anymore, she probably lost me somewhere between her re-release and "Young Foolish Happy". Now forced by this thread I'm going to catch up on her and I'm curious.
First overall impression: Let me start of by saying that Pixie's still got it. I'm quite surprised, while "Pixie Lott" didn't blow me away, it's a cute album and giving me some "Turn It Up" teas. I really love Pixie's voice, it has something raw and special, that's the thing that always drew me towards her and that won't change. My biggest problem though are her songs, they're always too similar melody-wise as well as lyrics-wise. This girl needs some variety in her music and maybe also in her team? I also feel like she misses some soul, she's trying but it all seems a bit fake and forced on her at times.
Track-by-track review: Nasty - Very good choice as opening song, it has spunk, some great Pixie vocals and a catchy hook. Unfortunately it hasn't got much more to offer. 7 Lay Me Down - Following in the footsteps of "Nasty", it's kind of similar to it but does a much better job at engaging me. I wanna get up, I want to sing along,... It gets you going, although it doesn't have that edge or that little extra, it still is a fun and harmless pop song. 9 Break Up Song - After I saw the title and I heard the first 10 seconds, I thought: "Oh no" but after multiple listens this is a standout track. It showcases exactly what Pixie is good at: serving great vocals accompanied by a low-key but beautiful production. This feels real, she actually sings this with soul and heart, this is beautiful. 10 Champion - This could've easily gone on "Turn It Up" but I don't know if that's a good thing or not. She (or her management) obviously wants to break away from that young, poppy girl and this just doesn't fit, while I kinda like the song, I just don't see the overall picture for this one. 6 Kill A Man - This doesn't feel right, it's like a bad follow-up to "Break Up Song". Everything seems off and a bit messy, even her vocals sound offbeat. While the production is cute, they could've put more time and effort into this one. 3.5 Ain't Got You - While Pixie tries to put a lot of emotion into this one, it lacks deepness and meaning. Just some generic stuff every other girl could've sung. Pixie gives us some good vocals though and the song gets better along the way but that doesn't make up for all the rest. 5 Heart Cry - Very nice production, the whistles are fun and Pixie, while not always perfect, gives it her all. This gives the album a boost it desperately needed after several mediocre songs. 8.5 Ocean - What a miss-hit, after I got that boost from "Heart Cry" this gets me down once again. It's sad because this song definitely had potential. Everyone could've done so much more with it but it turned out quite dreadful. The production is chaotic, the lyrics are sloppy and Pixie doesn't shine either plus everything gets worse the longer it lasts. 1 Raise Up - Another track that reminds me of younger Pixie but with more maturity and stability. Nothing exceptional but this is what more of the album should have sounded like, it's personal with a simple production and good vocals. 8 Bang - Not a big fan of this song, while it has some cute parts, overall it's a drag. It's a lot of the same, Pixie's vocals get boring at times and the song makes no impact whatsoever. It simply lacks some guts and variety. 4 Leaving You - This is where the soul fails, this feels wrong, fake, forced,... and overall this just doesn't sound good really. On top of that, we've heard these kind of songs about a thousand times already. No originality, no meaning, no soul,... This is what you call a filler people but to be honest this shouldn't even have been on the album. 1.5 Cry and Smile - While I kinda feel the same way about this one as I do with "Leaving You", I can appreciate the effort more on this one. The acapella is not impeccable but a nice change and I like the chorus plus the vocals on it, however it still feels like a let down cause Pixie played it safe again, she stays at the surface but she could've gone deeper. 3
Overall "Pixie Lott" just lacks originality, personality and soul, sadly those things seem exactly what Pixie is going for since the album is self-titled and trying to get the R&B/Soul thing going. But if you look past what it's trying to achieve (in which it fails miserably) you will still find some cute bops and unblemished Pixie vocals.
Pixie's album is definitely a hit, it has good quality & good songs, but there's just one thing that's lacking: good vocals. Some songs just felt unfinished just because of that, it was a bit too raw. Now, the highlights of the album are "Nasty" and "Champion". Both songs have that "something" in them. I love the fact that Pixie recorded "Nasty", in the end, after the whole Christina controversy. It's such a good song with that "Motown" feeling (that is mixed with pop in the whole album) that Pixie wanted to get for her 3rd album. I wonder why she didn't choose "Champion" as the second single, to be honest. Her vocals are flawless here and it would be a much better choice than the bland "Let Me Down". The ballads were good, but it felt that there were too many. "Raise Up" was my favourite. The worst song on the album is, by far, "Bang". It's really a filler and it's boring and bland, it brings nothing new to the album.
Overall, I think that Pixie did a really, really good job with her album, but it's still nothing that special. The tracks are good, but they just lack that spark. However, I think I could enjoy any of the songs anyway, even the fillers, because they're not that cringe-worthy after all.