The Definitive Guide to Living in the Capital , Cairo , Egypt

Beyond her status as a loveable curmudgeon in the UK, singer, songwriter and borderline felon, Lily Allen, is often making headlines for the wrong reasons. Allen’s sometime ferocious and never filtered mouth has seen the outspoken Brit aim and fire at Kylie Minogue, Katy Perry and Amy Winehouse, among others, as well as various members of the British press.

The twenty nine year-old’s initial light-hearted, charming and satirical take on life has continued to evolve into an almost unpredictable malice – a tone that fails and flourishes in varying amounts on her third studio album, Sheezus. Allen’s usual natty lyrics and catchy hooks are still there; but her latest offering is cloaked under a much grumpier, almost petulant, temper. With the title of the album being a nod to Kanye West’s Yeezus, she seems to be have been inspired by Kim Kardahsian’s cranky baby-daddy in more ways than one.

Not unlike her previous records, Sheezus is a bouncy mishmash of urban pop, though this time round – by luck or by design – some songs are rather derivative in sound. While, as a whole, there’s enough of an x-factor to keep you interested, it’s difficult to shake off the feeling that you’ve heard this somewhere before.

The hip-hop infused title track sets the mood, with Allen once again taking aim at her peers, as Lady Gaga and Katy Perry find themselves on the receiving end of some not-very-nice words. Other songs, however, hark back to Allen’s more playful side, with ‘Air Balloon’ and ‘Our Time’ being much more summery in disposition.

Other stand out tracks include ‘Insincerely Yours’ – a straight up 90’s r&b song – and ‘As Long as I Got You’ – a knee-knocking fusion of country-pop.

Primarily, though, Sheezus hops back on forth over the line of pop and hip-hop; the same musical vicinity that has gained Allen much of her following. The problem, however, is that while her influences have evolved, her dependence on and use of them has not – she’s quoted as saying that at one point during recording, she was “throwing sh*t in the wall and seeing if anything sticks”. Yes, the comment is likely attributed to Allen’s prickly demeanour as much as anything, but listening even casually to the album suggests that the comment has some truth to it.

What this all amounts to be is a pleasingly catchy album that is still, nonetheless, bogged down by Allen’s splintered outlook on life. It’s nice, but indistinct.