Charlotte Church - Three

In no particular order, Charlotte Church has: had a double Platinum debut album at the age of 12, become patron of The Topsy Foundation, performed before the Pope and the Queen, hosted a Channel 4 chat show, starred in ‘A Beautiful Mind’, released six albums, sold over 10 million records worldwide, is worth £11m and most recently, in February this year – she turned 27.

She’s also managed to somehow squeeze in the release of ‘Three’, an adventurous Björk-styled EP of eclectic influences, which (not too surprisingly) follows her recent releases ‘One’ and ‘Two’.

Because ‘Three’s creative palette is larger than Jabba the Hut after a trip to McDonalds, incredible sound combinations are chanced upon – like the ear-candy of ‘Sparrow’s subtle bass drop, or the staccato drums and warm synths of ‘Like a Fool’. ‘Magician’s Assistant’ starts as tame as a Chris Martin house party, before baritone saxophone and twisted guitars make it sound like a cut from Bowie’s ‘The Next Day’ – until it ends with a chirpy piano piece seemingly from a teacup ride.

This musical chaos shouldn’t work, but it does. In fact, it’s some of the sparser moments that are the least successful - ‘House Upon The Sea’ and ‘Remains’ feel a little bare – though on the latter, Church’s voice is too phenomenal to notice; she could have been singing over the top of Eddie Stobart: Trucks and Trailers and it still would have sounded incredible.

On the other end of the spectrum, ‘I Can Dream’ may have a cliched title but it’s less stereotypical and more - (Puts on shades) - stereoflipical, turning the tables on conventions with a bombardment of lush sounds. Best is ‘Water Tower’, which goes from The xx to Florence Welch in epic style.

Throughout her career, she’s experimented with so many sounds, making people’s perceptions hugely differing – some still see her as the angelically voiced child prodigy, others the fleeting pop-star that released hits such as ‘Crazy Chick’. But leave any preconceptions at the door. ‘Three’ may not be the Charlotte Church you know – but will certainly be one that you love.