Estelle: All of Me – review

A curious album, this followup to the London rapper/singer's 2008 breakthrough, Shine. Along with excursions into multiple genres (reggae, electropop, hip-hop, soul), All of Me is punctuated by interludes in which young Americans discuss dating ("It is a daily, daily challenge," opines one). It feels as if Estelle isn't sure what she's about. From the opener The Life ("This one's for London, this one's for Brooklyn") it seems she's aiming for a sound that incorporates the spirit of her home city and the commercial gleam of her adopted one – a bit like the No 1 single American Boy. But too many songs feel engineered to get her on US radio: for instance, International – a dancehall-ish threeway with Trey Songz and Chris Brown – and an odd pairing with MC Rick Ross, Don't Break It. Things are redeemed by the tunes that let her be her airy, soul-pop self, the best being Speak Ya Mind, which baldly namechecks Lauryn Hill.