When I first heard Rox I was immediately reminded of the first time I heard Corinne Bailey Rae and Amy Winehouse. Over the past decade or so the UK has become somewhat of a breeding ground for Soul artists that dabble in Reggae, Funk, Jazz and Retro Soul. Maybe it's the fact that the music there has been less commercialized and dilluted, or maybe it's because it's such a melting pot of various cultures and music. Whatever the reason is, Soul lovers such as myself are grateful that the environement allows for releases such as Memoirs.

I'd heard several tracks from the album that I loved, before it was released, but some of the tracks on the finished version somehow managed to replace my previous favorites. The album is a very balanced mix of uptempo, funky tracks and stripped down acoustic ballads, with my personal favorites being "My Baby Left Me" from the former category and "Oh My" from the latter. It flows extremely well and not once did I feel the urge to hit the skip button while listening, which speaks to the lack of monotony on the individual tracks.

This is the first album from the half Jamaican and half Iranian singer and although it's twelve tracks long it left me wanting more. This release is a great start and I hope that she finds the same success that the two singers that I compared her to previously did.