Lily Allen: Sheezus

Troublesome, unapologetic, irritating? A pop songwriter of the highest order? Yes, Lily Allen has her moments either way, but strip away all of the celeb chit-chat and you're left with this question: is she really any good? Judging by Sheezus, her first album since 2009's excellent It's Not Me, It's You, Allen is very good indeed – her pop nous is second to none, and her lyric writing remains pithy, amusing, satirical and direct. Sheezus is produced by Greg Kurstin (who also co-wrote a few tracks), and Allen's themes touch on body image, misogyny, sex, and the objectification of women in pop music – topics that are bound to be interpreted in various ways. Whatever. Some songs don't fully work (notably the country twang of As Long as I Got You) and Air Balloon owes a too obvious debt to MIA's Paper Planes. But mostly Sheezus is supreme pop, pure and not by any means simple. lilyallenmusic.com
Download: Air Balloon, URL Badman, Silver Spoon