albums and tracks

After beating cancer Anastacia has returned from four years away with her usual, unmistakable brand of nasal caterwauling. On Heavy Rotation she's reflecting on the churning gravitas of the human condition, explaining the album title as a reference to how "life can be heavy, but it all turns around and goes into something else". It's essentially a self-help audio book from the bargain bin, featuring chapters such as 'You'll Be Fine'.

Predictably, there are more limp aphorisms than a job lot of fortune cookies, epitomised by 'Defeated'. During the course of this piano-led display of fist-clenching defiance, she "calls a spade a spade", concludes "things aren't fair in love and war" and proposes "nothing is impossible". Anyone in search of inspiring empowerment will remain downtrodden.

Musically, soulless soul remains the order of the day - in spite of input from ex-Robbie Williams songwriter Guy Chambers. Their collaboration on 'Never Gonna Love Again' is presumably for those wishing Celine Dion would release another bloated ballad, while those who prefer Winehouse without needles get 'The Way I See It'. Diluted in every way, the track is the result of someone listening intently through Mark Ronson's studio wall and photocopying the result.

With Anastacia's worldwide sales upwards of 20 million, there's clearly an international audience for inane pop celebrating a better tomorrow. However, for the more cynical British market, the true meaning of Heavy Rotation will only become apparent when the tedium lifts and this album sinks without trace.

Sophie Hammer