The prospect of another slightly sulky pop chanteuse who favours indie-disco rhythms and piano-led pondering probably doesn’t hold much appeal, but there’s something endearing about ‘Adult Angst Anonymous’, the debut album by The Cheek of Her. Mostly, she’s got some decent tunes tucked away here. But equally, while we’ve had a gutful of middle-class brats playing at being working class heroes a la Lily Allen, there’s no such sense of pretence evident here. Instead of partially-pithy sociopolitical observations and pseudo kitchen sink grittiness, with Helen Dooley aka The Cheek of Her it feels like she’s really dredging through some emotional rough in order to emerge, victorious with her heart on her sleeve and her credibility intact.
There’s a disarming naturalness about this, too. She hesitates. She coughs. She clears her throat. This isn’t some super-polished prima dona preen. Helen Dooley is a real person, and she’s putting it all out there.
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This is perhaps why it’s not all good: ‘G.E.M’ is one of the album’s low points – it feels forced, overly theatrical and, er, yeah, bit Kate Nash. The last track, ‘Three Little Birds’ is also, depressingly, gash as she tries to come on all ‘rawk’ as she hollers ‘evveyy little thayng’s going to be alroight!!
Still, on balance, and credit where it’s due, no-one could accuse The Cheek of Her of producing pop music that soulless or plastic, or formulaic for that matter. The world is definitely a better place for having her, and her cheek, around.
The Cheek of Her Online
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