Five years after releasing her chart topping second studio album It’s Not Me, It’s You, Lily Allen is back with her confidently titled record Sheezus, which she said is a nod to Kanye West who titled his 2013 album Yeezus.
The album kicks off with the title track ‘Sheezus’, which is already a fan favourite and is a brilliant parody of stan culture. The chorus which name drops some of the biggest pop stars of today – Rihanna, Katy Perry, Lorde and Lady Gaga – gets you thinking. The line “Give me that crown bitch, I wanna be Sheezus” sums up what we think the industry is all about – woman in pure competition of each other – or what we are supposed to think it’s all about.
Next up is very cute ‘L8 CMMR’ which in some ways could be a follow up to her 2009 hit, Not Fair. The song is about Lily finding true love at last with her husband that she hopes to stay with forever as she sings; “and when he calls, he calls my name, i know we’re in the long game” implying that although he came late into her life, he was worth the wait. The fun continues when we get to hear the M.I.A. sounding ‘Air Balloon‘. Even though this is one of Lily’s weaker singles on the album it still fits very well, with the jolly beat and the happy lyrics able to put anyone in a good mood.
‘Our Time‘ slows the pace a little but doesn’t give off a boring vibe at all. It’s one of Lily’s best songs to date, sounding like a party lullaby song with a very catchy chorus. The vibe to ‘Insincerely Yours‘ is so chilled at first listen, offering a different sound for Lily and touches on her Twitter argument with US rapper Azealia Banks. Again it has a repetitive chorus but it’s not annoying in the slightest. The relatable and sweet ‘Take My Place‘ follows and is 2014’s version of ‘Chinese‘, which was on her 2009 release.
After a few slow numbers, Lily takes us back to her slight country sound she did on ‘Not Fair‘ and gives us ‘As Long As I Got You‘ this time round. The uplifting lyrics and beat sounds like a future smash single. We know this is going to be one Lily is going to love performing live. We’re then chilling out as ‘Close Your Eyes‘ slows the pace again. The highlight of the song is the lyric: “I’ll be Beyoncé yeah baby say my name“, but the use of auto tune half way through though kind of ruins it, as is certainly not needed.
‘URL Badman‘ starts off with an unexpected intro as Lily is playing a character of a journalist, shouting for her son ‘Alexander’ that dinner is ready while she is typing away. A funny yet unusual beginning to a song and once listening to the chorus it will stay in your head for ages. The verses are humorous and pretty true, where she sings about the different kinds of people on the internet. ‘Silver Spoon‘ follows and sounds very similar to Rihanna‘s ‘Rude Boy‘ but more of a pop version and ‘Lie For Me‘ is a little filler but still a cute edition to the album.
Towards the end we hear Lily doing what she does best; saying it how it is. ‘Hard Out Here‘ is what you call ‘keeping it real’, as Lily tells us what she really thinks it’s like to be a woman in music, as she proudly sings; “It’s hard out here for a bitch, it’s hard“. The humorous video makes the song a whole better too.
The final track on the album is a special bonus cover of Keane‘s ‘Somewhere Only We Know‘, that was released for the Christmas John Lewis advert last year, which it was perfect for as has such a winter vibe to it.
So we waited years for a new Lily Allen release and was it worth it? It sure was! The singer has reached a new peak with Sheezus as she has experimented with new sounds and producers once again but has still stayed true to herself. The album has a lot to offer as there is something for everyone, and it seems the record is only going to get better the more you play it. We highly recommend.
