Review - Pixie Lott - Young Foolish Happy (Deluxe Edition)

20 year old Pixie Lott is back with her sophomore album, ‘Young Foolish Happy’ – an apt title. Coming into this record, Pixie had managed seven top 20 songs. Saying that she had a lot to live up to is a bit of an understatement.

Well, good news is that she basically pulled it off. The two songs I remember most from her debut – “Mama Do (Uh Oh Uh Oh)” and “Boys and Girls” both made it to #1 and have stuck with me since. Sadly, I don’t think there is a song on ‘Young Foolish Happy’ that will carry through for years. That doesn’t mean, however, that she didn’t still put out a good record.

‘YFH’ sounds a bit like an EP mixed into the first half of another album. What I mean by this is that her first three singles – “All About Tonight”, “What Do You Take Me For (ft. Pusha T)”, and “Kiss The Stars” are all in the first five tracks of the 20-song-long deluxe edition.  Also, all of them are exactly what you would expect from the pop world these days: electronic, thumping, and made for a club. The only one of these that manages to stray into originality is “What Do You Take Me For”, which I am loving right now.

I give Pixie credit for making the rest of the album sound rather different. If you are familiar with her singles, and you know “Mama Do”, think more along those lines. Lott plays with neo-soul and R&B while making an undeniably pop record. Anyone who has a sound that they can call their own is alright on my list.

That is not to say, however, that ‘Young Foolish Happy’ is a revelation. While Pixie Lott may not be the average pop star, I don’t think she invented most of what she has done. Some songs sound like Alicia Keys, album track “Stevie On The Radio” borrows suspiciously from Cee Lo’s “Fuck You”, and the last original track on the album, “Paper Planes” has audaciously and not very subtly taken the guitar riff from Spandau Ballet’s “True” (and yes, I pulled that reference out myself, THANK YOU VERY MUCH).

In the end, ‘Young Foolish Happy’ is, in fact, a rather good album. I felt it could have been shorter than it was in fact, as there were more than a few songs I wouldn’t miss. Also, while her singles from this record have been fine to very good, I would love to see her put something out that is more showing of her original sound than just what the masses are doing these days. Her last record wielded six singles, and we are only on number three right now of this album, so let’s see where she takes it.

Listen to: “All About Tonight”, “What Do You Take Me For (ft. Pusha T)”, “Kiss The Stars”, “Black Rain”, “Till The Sun Comes Up”, and “We Just Go On”.

PS - see if you feel the same way about some of the things I mentioned about these songs in my review:

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