Pretend

Seinabo Sey fails to retain the genre-busting spirit that made her earlier work so exciting on a debut album that feels just too safe.

Download: Pretend; Poetic; Hard Time; Words

Debut album from Stockholm’s answer to Emeli Sandé veers from the punchy to the characterless

Sey’s powerhouse voice delivers power-pop, soul, rock and ballads: she could easily divert to chart-topping mush, but she’s also an observant, sharp lyricist