Following the underperformance of
Sin Miedo and her second-to-last placing in the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest, Spanish vocalist
Soraya Arnelas returns to the English language for the third time with her fifth album,
Dreamer. Whereas her previous two efforts,
Ochenta's and
Dolce Vita, focused almost entirely on renditions of '80s pop hits, her first release through Sony Records is a much more original affair, with just one cover version (a collaboration with Turkish pop star
Beduk on his own hit, "Electric Girl") nestling alongside the ten original compositions. The former Operacion Triunfo runner-up may have come embarrassingly close to finishing rock-bottom while representing her country, but there are still several potential Eurovision entries-in-waiting such as the dreamy schlager pop of "Twilight," the infectiously upbeat glam-disco of "Ticking All the Boxes," and the unashamedly trashy Euro-dance of "I Got You," all of which suggest she's willing to have another crack at the contest in the future. But backed by French DJ
Antoine Clamaran's production, the majority of
Dreamer is more concerned with the dancefloor than "douze points," as evident on the
September-esque synth pop of the opening title track, the bubbling techno of "You've Got the Music," and the seven-minute finale, "Close to Me," which fuses early-'90s Italo-house riffs,
Vangelis-style piano chords and an intriguing use of Celtic violins to produce a seven-minute, Ibiza-friendly epic. Unfortunately, the ubiquitous Auto-Tune rears its robotic head on the
Kesha-inspired trance-pop of "Give You Up," and the slinky electro of "In My Blood," rendering
Soraya's disco diva vocals rather characterless, a term which could also be used to describe the generic
David Guetta-style floor filler "Live Your Dreams."
Dreamer shows enough potential to suggest Soraya's recent career troubles may have just been a blip, but in a busy female-led Euro-pop field, it's still doubtful whether it's distinctive enough to avoid getting lost in the crowd.