Album Review: Aloe Blacc - Lift Your Spirit

It's too easy to label a new pop direction as a sell-out; evidence is needed for a conviction. A sophisticated cut above the rest of the neo-soul funkateers, Aloe Blacc already had two decent albums and one of the slickest live shows around, so tight in fact that even the gaps between songs were exquisitely timed. But things changed last year when he co-wrote and sang on Swedish cheese carousel Avicii's excruciatingly large mega-hit, Wake Me Up. Abandoning his established retro style, Blacc has fearlessly leapt into the realm of pure, unabashed pop.

A cynic might say he's spotted a dormant CeeLo Green-sized hole in the market. A supporter might say pop's the right outlet for his optimistic nature and elevating voice. But pop's an altogether different animal to soul; it often works best when it contrasts happiness and sadness. With the exception of the doom-mongering Ticking Bomb, Lift Your Spirit goes all-out on positivity, and boy is it saccharine. The lyrics don't help either. Loaded with every cliché in the book, it chimes like a corporate video for unmotivated workers. Feel like you've been crushed under the wheels occupational stress? Just remember that “Love is the answer” and try to “Lift your spirit” even though “Life ain't fair”, especially when you're “caught up in a dream” and you “only have two hands”.

Lift Your Spirit is an indigestibly sweet, sticky pop pudding. Not recommended to anyone over the age of 14.