Album Review

Holly Rose – I Don’t Care

• 18th Feb 2008

Speaking of her debut single, 24 year-old Holly Rose says, “We wrote this [song] in about 5 minutes”. And it tells.

I Don’t Care finds Hertfordshire’s Holly working with producer Jeffrey Calvert, who in a previous incarnation was a member of Totally Tropical, the duo responsible for inflicting Barbados on us in the ‘70’s, and as a result, indirectly responsible for 1999’s atrocious We’re Going to Ibiza by the Vengaboys.

Inspired by Calvert’s experience “working for reggae labels in the past” this track is laid down over a reggae beat and that’s the best bit about it in this writers opinion although one cant help being reminded of Lily Allen’s altogether more original and catchy songs.
The lyrics are insubstantial, unoriginal and repetitive (I like you just the way you are/signed sealed delivered to my heart) whilst the backing vocals are sickly sweet and unnecessary and the melody is particularly uninspiring.

Ms Rose does have a pleasant, dreamlike quality to her voice but I fear that this song is not the best introduction to her talents but with an upcoming album release she may get an opportunity to redeem herself.

Having said that, does she deserve another chance? With such a seemingly jumbled list of claimed influences – from Nina Simone to P. Diddy, The Carpenters to Amy Winehouse (none of whom can be audibly recognized on this track) – and the admission that she doesn’t write her own material coupled with the fact that MySpace, Bebo and Facebook pages seem rather new and professionally managed gives the impression that Holly Rose is the ‘creation’ of a record label, jumping on the current bandwagon of young, intelligent, female singer songwriters emerging at the moment.

‘I Don’t Care’ is taken from the forthcoming album Apple.