Gabriella Cilmi Releases Boring New Album

Gabriella Cilmi released her debut album Lessons to Be Learned in 2009 and while her music had an Amy Winehouse meets Duffy kind of sound it was original and resonated well. Despite releasing a great first album Cilmi didn't breakthrough as much as she could have. The next year Cilmi released her sophomore album Ten. While it wasn't released in North America it was still a decent album and even had one of her best songs, first single "On a Mission." The album featured a more new wave and pop-rock sound.
During the Spring of this year Cilmi released "Sweeter in History" which is the best song and served as a promotional single off of her third album The Sting. The single was a ballad about recalling the a relationship fondly after the fact when in reality the relationship wasn't that great. The album was actually released in the United States this month and had a more jazz inspired sound. While most of the songs are listenable, they're pretty boring.
Aside from "Sweeter" there are only a few other memorable songs. "Left With Someone Else" is a bluesy song about being used for sex. "Not Sorry" is a soulful number about a breakup in which Cilmi feels stabbed in the back. She knows that her lover isn't sorry for what he did to her. "Deep Water" is a gorgeous ballad in which Cilmi's vocals float over a gorgeous piano melody. "Don't Look Back" is an acoustic ballad in which Cilmi sings fragilely about the end of a love affair. The first single and title track is a faster R&B song that is nothing but sexual.
The other half of the album contains boring songs that aren't even worth mentioning.  This record has great songs but it would be better if there were a few upbeat songs to even out the ballads. Hopefully on Cilmi's next album she makes more variety in the songs.