Album: Alesha, The Entertainer (Asylum/Atlantic)

Alesha may be able to dance, and she can jump through the hoops of contemporary R&B vocal cliche with some alacrity, but the mere ability to sing and dance competently is in itself no guarantee of entertainment, a quality in somewhat short supply on The Entertainer.

The music is anonymous, nibbling technopop inflated to cumbersome size, over which Alesha's voice is treated into similar anonymity, delivering the usual vapid sentiments with the usual bogus "attitude". But there's an extra level of incompetence at work here that sabotages her album at every turn. Whether it's the guest slot for Roll Deep on "Take Control", the annoying martial drum barrage on the single "Drummer Boy", or the supremely irritating vocal hook gimmick on the title-track, every decision made about The Entertainer just seems wrong. Perhaps focusing on music rather than being an all-round entertainer might help.

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