Buried Underneath

Buried Underneath is the third studio album by British recording artist Alesha. It was released on July 4, 2005 via Visionary.Music. Alesha began working on the album in the early months of 2005, recording the bulk of it in Los Angeles. In contrast with her first two albums, Alesha took creative control over her next musical project and opted towards guitar-driven styles. The experimentation resulted in a pop rock album that took influence from Britpop, post-grunge, and soft rock. Lyrically, Buried Underneath explores themes of fame, grief, infidelity, relationship struggles, and in the case of "Infernal Superstar", signing a deal with the devil. Ben Parker, Claire Kitten, and Neyssa provided guest vocals.

Buried Underneath received generally positive reviews from critics, with many commending the album's new-found pop rock sound and praising Alesha's emotional vulnerability. The album became a commercial success worldwide. It entered the charts at number three, as did lead single "Little Green High Heels". Following the success of "Infernal Superstar", Alesha's first number one single, Buried Underneath spent three weeks at number one in October 2005. "Close the Door" (with Neyssa) also charted at number one. Following the release of the album, Alesha's husband Ben Parker filed for divorce and Alesha became romantically involved with Neyssa. Alesha also signed a new record deal with Ensemble. Buried Underneath was re-issued in December 2005 to accompany the single "Built This Way".

Background and development
Alesha released her debut album Look Out Below in 2003. Although the album failed to enter the top ten, it was accompanied by the success of lead single "Predictable". Alesha was awarded Best Newcomer at the 7th Urapopstar Awards, but failed to achieve continued commercial success. In 2004, Alesha scored a number two single and album with "Let Me Take You There" and Hungry for More respectively. However, when the second single entered the charts at number 18 and peaked at number nine, Alesha halted promotion of the album. Meanwhile, Alesha's personal life had become a tabloid fixture. In June 2004, Alesha married Ben Parker and also gave birth to their daughter Ana-Marie Roxanne Parker. Stories of marital problems plagued the tabloids in the months preceding the release of Buried Underneath.

Facing pressure from herself and her record label, Alesha "escaped" to Los Angeles to begin working on her third studio album. Alesha began experimenting with a guitar-based, rock-oriented sound. She found herself inspired by singer-songwriters like Alanis Morissette, Sheryl Crow, and Stevie Nicks, citing Morissette's seminal album Jagged Little Pill (1995) as a major influence. Alesha wrote most of the album by herself, but Aloud, Amy Marshall, Andrea Twain, and Delta Nu each contributed a track. Alesha recorded duets with her husband, as well as pop star Claire Kitten and R&B singer Neyssa.

Music and lyrics
Buried Underneath was noted as being a departure from Alesha's previous releases, which predominantly featured pop and R&B music. The album borrows from alternative rock, Britpop, post-grunge, and soft rock, as well as UK garage.

"Little Green High Heels", the album's lead single and opening track, was penned by country-pop crossover Delta Nu. In the song, the narrator is addressing a jealous woman who portrays herself as holier than thou. Alesha sings, "I'd rather be down there with your little green high heels." "Infernal Superstar" is a pop rock song with heavy use of electric guitar and drum machines. Written by Alesha, the song is about a woman who sold her soul to the devil in exchange for six years of fame. A sequel was later released on the rarities album The Good That Won't Come Out (2008). "Screw You" deals with Alesha's experience of sexual assault by a fellow musician in 2003, while "Football Match and Penis Size" recalls 1990s Britpop. The fifth track on Buried Underneath, "Two Steps Back" varies from the rest of the album in that it showcases a UK garage sound. Lyrically, the song deals with Alesha's career struggles.

"Fall Flat", written by pop duo Aloud, is a rhythmic pop song more indicative of Alesha's previous material. "Burning in Our Own Flame" is a candid ballad sung with husband Ben Parker, highlighting the tensions in their relationship. "Wonderland" is a pop rock ballad that expresses reservation about entering a relationship too soon even when it feels right. "If I Could" is a "saccharine" power ballad penned by Andrea Twain about reaching out and offering support to someone in a time of need. Fellow recording artist Amy Marshall wrote "Too Much", which is track ten on the album. It is an uptempo pop rock song about being sick and tired of love and infidelity. "Plead" is an emotionally charged ballad about begging for forgiveness.

"Close the Door", a duet with Neyssa, also exhibits a more rhythmic pop sound like Alesha's first albums. Neyssa, a divorcee, had been cheated on by her ex-husband, which led the duo to come together for a "girl power" anthem about showing a cheating lover the door. "Fancy Footwork", a duet with pop icon Claire Kitten, is also more pop than rock. The song is about seeing an unfortunate lover for what they are worth and escaping their grasp. "Lower the Curtain" is about fading fame, while "Ashes Spread" is a minimal piano ballad that grieves a lost loved one. The song's chorus states, "I'll lay a rose where your ashes spread / And the wind will blow it to join them".

Reception
Buried Underneath earned mostly positive responses from critics. John Perry of Blender magazine summarized Buried Underneath as an "outstanding guitar-pop record". People Magazine music critic Chuck Arnold gave the album a "promising" review, stating that the album is a "competent collection of pop rock." It was noted by celebrity biographer J. Randy Taraborrelli that Alesha "admirably and perhaps stubbornly" made a pop rock album despite the commercial failure of "It Sucks to Be Me". E! Online praised Alesha's singing and catchy tracks, saying that "Alesha still managed to piece together this collection of tracks that sound as if they were ripped right from the pages of her diary [...] even if it doesn't wow you, Buried Underneath may surprise you."

Other critics were more negative. Rolling Stone called it "mundane [...] with a predictable script". IGN.com called it "by-the-books, generic (and at times bland) pop/rock", although it did say Alesha's lyrics showed maturity and promise. For Jon Caramanica of Entertainment Weekly magazine (who gave the album a B−), "Alesha's monochromatic set of unimaginative guitar rock is saved only by the earnestness of her songs."

Deluxe edition
Alesha removed "If I Could" from the album's deluxe edition because she had abruptly quit Twain's record label Visionary.Music following a management dispute in favor of a contract with Ensemble. The deluxe edition includes cover versions of Samantha Ronson's "Built This Way" (written by Ronson and Dallas Austin) and Diana Ross' "Do You Know Where You're Going To?" (written by Masser and Goffin). It also includes "He's Done It Again" with Neyssa, released as a single alongside "Close the Door". The song originally appeared on Neyssa's album as a duet with Claire Kitten.