Not even trying to distance herself from a certain "Fugee-ette" she's constantly being compared to (at least stylistically, since vocally and lyrically, their many miles apart from eachother), Estelle gets into a lil' Miseducated vibe on "No Substitute Love", a lovely mix-and-matching of doo wop, '60's soul and reggae with a taste of modern day hip hop sass cooked up by one-time Lauryn Hill groupmate Wyclef Jean.

Swiping melodies and twisting lyrics from Billy Joel's "The Longest Time" and George Michael's "Faith", "No Substitute Love" cleverly plants it's '80's references in a swooning curb-kick to an untrustworthy partner. "You know it's gonna be a fight/ If these chicks keep calling you at night/ I see that text you tryna hide/ You see I know the truth," she confronts, adding later, "I'm a-upgrade you". Heart-sore from all his lies, and feeling understandably embarrassed that she ever believed him to be anything more than a scandalous jerk, Estelle wraps all of her emotions in a luscious packaging of sultry singing and wispy harmonies, before lunging at the wannabe player with a few West London hood-edged rhymes (if only to show the ones who have yet to find out, or remind those who temporarily forgot, that she's a rapper too).

With "American Boy" beginning to break her into the States in a major way, and back-up fire like "No Substitute Love" waiting in the wings, it's looking to be a very good year for Miss Estelle. Just don't expect the obligatory "new Lauryn Hill" tags to die anytime soon.



DL: "No Substitute Love" (YFH)