Monster / mɒnstə / 1. A large, ugly and frightening imaginary creatre. 2. A thing of extraordinary or daunting size.
Whichever definition you apply, Amy Shark's new album Love Monster fails to live up to its name.
It's neither fierce and frightening, nor extraordinary and daunting. Instead, Shark delivers a pretty-but-meek debut offering that ultimately fails to evoke any real emotion.
Shark's debut single Adore saw the Australian singer hit the charts both here and across the Ditch two years ago – fitting in nicely amongst the top 40 playlists of synth-driven electro-pop. But that single remains the standout offering on this 14-track collection, which repeatedly serves up the same idea both lyrically and melodically.
Having called on both Joel Little and Jack Antonoff to produce tracks, comparisons to Lorde are inevitable. But Shark doesn't come close to emulating Lorde's musical sophistication or lyrical depth.
