The dogs in the street know that Sophie Ellis Bextor is the voice behind last year’s sublime Spiller hit ‘Groovejet’. Indeed, if you’re one of those idiots like me that fork out an obscene amount of money every month on glossy UK lads’ mags, you’ve probably seen the rather attractive Ms Ellis Bextor in her smalls. She’s really pretty. They usually interview her as well, mind you, and she comes across as being very nice, as well as clever and talented. But this solo outing begs the question: Is she any good?

Well, there’s no denying that she can sing, but the snag with Read My Lips is that this time Sophie is writing her own stuff, and that ain’t the same as singing. Too often here the lyrical content is formulaic and at times even banal, the heartfelt and sublime ‘Final Move’ excepted. Vocally we’re in sugar pop rock territory, it sounds to my ears like the album Yazoo never made, although Alf Moyet brought a passion to her music that’s noticeably absent here. And that’s a shame because Sophie really does have a quality to her voice that’s very special indeed, despite suffering from that affliction Chris de Burgh also has that makes her mispronounce the word ‘dance’ as ‘daunce’. She’s a little mannered as well and there’s nothing here that even comes close to the abandoned passion she displays on the chorus of ‘Groovejet’. Pity.

Musically it really does sound like one of those early ‘80s albums by outfits like The Human League, but despite always threatening to lift off and give it a bit of poke we’re left dissatisfied and wanting more.

‘Murder On The Dancefloor’ is pleasantly sassy and fun, and ‘Is It Any Wonder’ is crying out for a remix, but ultimately Read My Lips falls flat.