With the task of shrugging the X Factor curse off her shoulders Lucy Spraggan’s album Join the Club had a lot to do to impress, and it’s safe to say that Spraggan doesn’t disappoint. Two tracks off the album have already been released with little recognition but her album is sure to get the attention it deserves.
Spraggan first released Lighthouse, reaching 26 in the charts and most recently re-released her previously independently distributed Last Night (Beer Fear) which received a slightly better response gaining the number 18 spot. Both songs draw on Spraggan’s fantastic original lyrics and quirky nature and were a great promotion for the album release. It is a real shame that these songs didn’t chart higher and Spraggan does deserve the recognition for the original lyrics.
Spraggan’s album is incredibly easy listening and I haven’t so far come across a track that I have skipped, which is rare for most albums. The album starts with the upbeat track Someone, a track that I would like to see released as a single in the near future, a catchy track that keeps you hooked from the off. The best part of Spraggan’s music is her ability to tell a story with her music and this is exemplified as the album goes on with tracks like ‘Tea and Toast’ and ‘Lighthouse’ showing off her writing abilities.
’91’, ‘Tourist’ and ‘In a state’ get a little lost in the middle of the album, sandwiched between groups of fantastic material which is a shame as if placed somewhere else in the album they would probably get more recognition although I can’t see any of them ever being released as singles. Spraggan tries something completely different with ‘You’re Too Young’, an original song that follows the trend of telling a story but as opposed to Spraggan’s quirky voice we also get to hear her ‘rapping’ abilities. While a great song it isn’t my favourite on the album and if I had to choose a song to skip it would probably be this one.
It really is hard to criticise this album, with the only issue I can find being the amount of material Spraggan has released in one go. With a 17 track album from the off I wonder whether Spraggan will be able to keep up the writing and provide us with a constant stream of well written original music. I worry that people will gradually get bored and question her music as being a bit ‘samey’. That aside, Join the Club is a great album and a great start for her and I believe she has managed to remove the X Factor image quickly as it is clear this is her album and not her record company’s. Let’s hope Spraggan can keep up the good work after a solid first album.
7/10
Join The Club was released on the 4th of October on Columbia Records
