AS the winner of the second Fame Academy, Parks has gone from professional Cornish clown to pop star practically overnight.

This album is divided between six covers she performed on the BBC talent show and seven songs she has co-written. All display her haunting vocals with highlights including Coldplay's Yellow, REM's Everybody Hurts and Tears For Fears' Mad World.

Her first single, the fire-catching Maybe That's What It Takes, displays all her hallmarks: sleepy starts with wide-eyed, soul-voiced choruses. Her own songs show a preference for rock and share a dark mood, which gives a coherency but at the expense of surprise.

An impressive debut, but a first draft. She needs more time to discover her place in the pop/rock world. A new studio album starts in the new year which doesn't leave much time for Parks to discover her one true voice.

Updated: 09:04 Thursday, November 27, 2003