A pulse starts up, vocals are panned beautifully across my head, the pulse is growing, stronger and stronger. A lone piano kicks in, delay ridden and full of remorse. So far, so promising. And then this buildup is interrupted by some terrible close harmonies, and some of the most cliched lyrics ever. "You wandered out into the crowd, you wonder how you got there. And the sound is very loud, from underground". At that point I closed iTunes. And then I realised that I had to review this album. Only, now, many days have passed inbetween my first listen and this, my full playthrough times 3. I was hesitant, nay scared to approach the rest of the album since being utterly turned off by the debut album from Melody Klyman, entitled Sovereign. But, it's my job, so onwards I go.Title track 'Sovereign', source of the dreadful lyrics, is strong on production terms for sure. Everything sounds clean and well mixed, there are some great ideas floating around in the background, if not overwhelmed at times by a selection of slightly nasty synth sounds. I just can't. Get. Past. Those lyrics! Yes, Melody Klyman can sing well, sometimes a bit too faux-soulful but still possessing a certain amount of charm. Considering that I was maybe being a bit harsh, I took some sample lyrics from the second track to check if it was just a one off. Second track: Â "I was cold as december, too old too remember, was it better to say nuh-huthing at all. I was cold as December, and smart Eee-nough to offend her, there's just things that we discover, like it or not". Now, that may not be as bad as the last set of prose, but if you actually listen to the track you will be able to hear that the words are shoe-horned so badly into the song that it just sounds wrong, wrong and wrong.Sorry. I just turned the album off again. I shouldn't keep informing you, the avid reader of my specific reviewing motions, but it's important to note that I struggle to listen to this album, it's actually that grating. Track three, 'Sparkle', starts like Madonna's 'Like A Prayer' for some reason, but not in a good way, in a derivative one. And then continues in the same direction for three minutes, albeit with some nice harmonies. 'Fool For Me' has an excellent bit crushed and mangled motif bouncing around your ears, but ultimately comes across as a bit of a cheap trick to disguise that this is again, the same song as the three before it. 'Never Stay Away', attempts an adventurous chord progression, and some natty 80's drum sounds, but falls flat on its face. 'Hunt Of The Innocent' = Same pulsey bass drum, same vocals, but this time with more strings. About as emotionally affecting as a sock. A grey sock. 'Magic' comes and goes, with only one thought. Must there be something that pans across your head at the start of EVERY piece? What was originally interesting is now dull and repetitive. Some horrible stock guitars add that tacky power ballad vibe. 'If you believe in Magic.'? Next track please.Wait! 'Trigger Me' doesn't start with anything panned stupidly.....oh there we go. Thankyou drumkit, for coming in very slowly in an incredibly arrogant (if drums can indeed be arrogant) way. Oh, Melody, is that you singing a nice introduction? Again? Yes. Right, next track. To be fair, 'Caught' does make an attempt to be different, with a simple start, vocals coming in after 20 seconds, and some panned blips and shit.No. No It doesn't. That isn't different! That's the same FUCKING THING! My good greasy God in heaven! Skip. Last song, 'Eleventh Hour', is the same thing. Right, end of album. Can i stop reviewing now? A summary? Okay. Fine.This album is bad. Bad because it's viciously repetitive. Bad because the production is good but the songwriting isn't. Bad because Melody Klyman puts across this soul diva personality through the way she sings, but her lyrics let her down majorly. This is on a par with Razorlight and Keane in terms of skull crushing boredom. And people like Melody Klyman should never assume that just because they have had some critical acclaim, they are suddenly a good artist and can bash out an album of this quality. Razorlight and Keane have also been critically acclaimed. What does that tell you? I'm sure that Melody Klyman is a lovely person, with a great deal of talent. But this isn't about the person, it's about the music presented. And while the musician in me is screaming in my brain to write a more balanced and positive review, i find myself instead overwhelmed with the bile only a music critic can muster. Bile caused by this album.So, Melody Klyman, here's some critical acclaim.Oh, wait. No. Not acclaim. I used the wrong word there. My bad. I meant 'panning'. 20%Melody Klyman On Myspace