The career path of X-Factor contestants used to be pretty simple. Record an album in a matter of weeks, half karaoke standards and half
Westlife rejects, watch it sell by the bucketloads when it's released for Mother's Day, and then disappear back into obscurity before the next series begins. Since
Leona Lewis bucked the trend by releasing the transatlantic success
Spirit, Simon Cowell's protégées have been handled with far better care and have had much more time and money invested in them. No one has been given more time than
Diana Vickers, whose debut album comes 18 months after she finished fourth in the 2008 competition, behind chart-toppers
Alexandra Burke and
JLS, and the more forgettable
Eoghan Quigg. From her opening audition, where she performed
Damien Rice's "The Whistle Blower's Daughter," it was clear from the start that the Blackburn singer was a little edgier than other contestants. So it's no surprise to see that
Songs from the Tainted Cherry Tree features tracks written by the likes of
Nerina Pallot,
Ellie Goulding, and
Lightspeed Champion, rather than the ubiquitous
Red One or
Ryan Tedder. But despite its indie credentials,
Songs is still essentially a straightforward pop/rock album. Indeed, opening number "Once," a recent
Cathy Dennis-penned number one, and second single "The Boy Who Murdered Love" certainly wouldn't have sounded out of place on the last
Kelly Clarkson album. Elsewhere, "Me and You" and "Numb" are the kind of piano-led reflective ballads that soundtrack the closing scenes of most U.S. teen dramas, while the swirling violins and soft rock chorus of "Notice" echoes
Talk on Corners-era
Corrs. But there are times when
Vickers, particularly on the folky electronica of "Chasing You" and "Hit" and the synth-heavy "My Hip," proves she can be just as convincing when tackling more adventurous material. Thankfully, her self-consciously kooky vocals have been toned down since her X-Factor beginnings, her icy and breathy tones now recalling a young
Sarah McLachlan rather than a poor
Shakira impersonator.
Songs from the Tainted Cherry Tree may not be as alternative as its songwriting credits suggest, but there's enough potential to suggest that the early
Kate Bush/
Tori Amos comparisons may not be so wide of the mark in the future. ~ Jon O'Brien