Posted on 06/12/2009
With her debut album, Speech Therapy, UK MC, Speech Debelle proves beyond a reasonable doubt that she can craft post-adolescent angst and frank self reflection into a compelling song. Unfortunately, she proves it by making that song thirteen times, with severely diminishing returns.

Debelle’s basic formula seems to be emotionally delivered couplets over mellow drums and pensive acoustic chords. At it’s best, such as the hook driven, “Spinnin’,” the sound plays as equal parts soulful and pensive, adding urgency to stellar lyrics. On the stream of consciousness, “Finish This Album,” Debelle rhymes, “Woozy out patients is shouting at the pavements/they lookin’ rough/Can’t get a grip so they end up looking worse/But maybe if I can see who they talking to/I might talk to them too/So they can prove that the spirit never died,” illustrating her uncanny ability to weave vivid snapshots of a troubled world into her own inner turmoil.

It’s that same trouble and turmoil that ultimately bogs the record down. While other emotionally raw Brits like Amy Winehouse and Lily Allen have found great success on this side of the pond by tempering their pathos with dry humor, Debelle serves her laments uncut. By the midway point, the introspective lyrics and somber production begin to feel more oppressive than poignant. When Debelle’s musings finally do move from the cerebral to the carnal, “Buddy Love” bumps to a grind more mechanical than sexy.

While difficult to get through as an album, Speech Therapy offers several selections that will make welcome additions to coffee house playlist and urban alternative mixtapes. If she can cultivate a broader emotional range and more varied production, Speech Debelle could be one to watch.

- Jeff Harvey