After several years releasing albums in the UK, Sandy Dillon has finally gotten a release in the U.S. Heavily laden with poppy hooks and dark, silky vocals it becomes another example in forgettable just-outside-of-mainstream pop.

Although she's got an impressive vocal range and a very nice voice, her cooing vocal breaths mixed with growling and hissing is alternately impressive and annoying. On songs like "Can't Make You Stay" and "Honeymoonee," she starts sounding like a pop-diva wannabe but makes up for it on the stronger songs like the ballady "Mamma's Backyard" and the excellent title track, "Nobody's Sweetheart" and the best song on the album, "A Girl Like Me," a sparse bass-driven jazzy song where she sounds like a '50's lounge singer.

Her dark, moody vocals are perfect for that big-band, 1950's swing sound, which unfortunately, she doesn't play with here. We're stuck with a mostly electronica backed pop album which doesn't quite let the radio-friendly mainstream pop sound take over but definately dabbles in it. With few exceptions, the music is boring and repetitive but her vocal strength saves the album from being worthy of the trash heap. There are a few songs that with the right promotion could do a world of wonders for Dillon's career in the U.S. most notably, the moody "Can't Make You Stay" and the upbeat rocker "Don't Blame You Now."

Nobody's Sweetheart is an often forgettable but rather enjoyable almost, but not-quite, pop album with a very good singer.

Rating: 6 of 10