The awkward, irrelevant computer reference aside - Cut Copy Me is a surprisingly cool track, with the veteran star sounding vulnerable yet vibrant. The video is an ode to ancient PC technology that's right on the vintage imagery trend, but thankfully the track itself is fresh without trying to be too hip and/or happening. Okay, so there's just the slightest hint of auto-tune, but we're not talking Cher levels here.
I must admit - I spent the entire viewing experience wondering if Petula herself would wander in and start typing an email to her beloved grandchildren, one rheumatic finger at a time - an icon for silver surfers everywhere. Alas, no such luck, but the clip does match the wistful nature of the song.
Cut Copy Me may not be as instant as that hit of hers, and it may not take her back to the top 10 like the remix of said hit did in 1988, but it's an endearing preview to her new album Lost In You, which is out this week.
It's been 30 years since Agnetha Fältskog, 1 quarter of ABBA, went back to her solo career, and with recent rumours spreading about her return to the studio at the age of 62, it's the perfect time to tackle her back catalogue.
Other female quarter Frida was the first to release a post-ABBA solo album in 1982, and whilst she was experimenting with the edgy rock of Phil Collins and the on-trend synths of Giorgio Moroder, Agnetha was taking a middle of the road approach. Wrap Your Arms Around Me, her first English-language album, has aged badly, with the sensual strut of Can't Shake Loose and the epic, sprawling title track proving to be the standout songs.
As though her record label were trying to market her as the Swedish Olivia Newton-John, the album is a prime example of playing it safe - i.e. innocent pop with a subtle hint of sexuality. For instance, titles such as Take Good Care Of Your Children are best reserved for charity school choir specials, and the self-penned Man is an exercise in schmaltz. Wrap... was met with a lukewarm critical and commercial response, which is no surprise seeing as it didn't stray too far from the ABBA sound, at a time when their popularity had faded.
Curiously, despite Agnetha co-writing most of her Swedish-language material, the only other credit of her English career is on her second album, Eyes Of A Woman. Released the same year as Frida's sophomore album, it packs more of a punch than her own debut, but is still a lot less modern than her former bandmate's second effort. The album highlight is One Way Love - a synths ahoy, arms in the air loner's anthem.
Meanwhile, I Won't Let You Go (the aforementioned 2nd credit, lyrics by 10cc's Eric Stewart), storms in with its rollicking rhythm. Lyrics like "Some girls want to play with you" could have easily made Agnetha a star of an 80s-set Grease 3. Things trail off towards the second half of the album, as it starts to lead towards the mushy, romantic side.
She took a darker turn on her third album of the 80s - I Stand Alone - to date her last original album, released in 1987. Produced by Peter Cetera of 70s cheese rockers Chicago fame, it gave Agnetha's soft-rock leanings an American sheen. The title track recalls the brooding atmosphere last heard on The Day Before You Came, and is a prime example of mature pop.
Meanwhile, I Wasn't The One (Who Said Goodbye) - a duet with Cetera - doesn't quite live up to the dramatic flair of its title. Let It Shine is by far the cheesiest cut. Released as the third single - it was her last stab at the GB market for many years.
She returned in 2004 with My Colouring Book, an album of 60s covers, in a wave of publicity. her much-heralded 2004 comeback, album of 60s covers. It finally gave her a hit on these shores - If I Thought You'd Ever Change Your Mind peaked at #11 and even made its way onto a Now! album.
It's telling that she had her biggest success with songs written for other people, and suggests that for her upcoming 5th English-language set she ought to be more selective, or better still write it herself. Everyone is familiar with her voice, and now that ABBA are much more treasured by the general public, she owes to herself and her fans to step up her game. The new piece is rumoured to have a Springtime release date (well she's missed Mother's Day), and in a year when octogenarian superstar Petula Clark is returning, it could be the dawning of a new era of oldies. Someone call Madonna.
Poor Josephine Oniyama is half a decade too late for the 60s soul trend - Amy Winehouse is dead, Duffy has disappeared into obscurity and even Mark Ronson has ditched the brass and emigrated to the modern world. Yet, the smoothness of her voice is reminicent of Rumer, and her sound a close relative of Ren Harvieu - both of whom enjoyed top 10 success last year, so perhaps all is not lost.
Singing by her first name alone, Josephine hasn't so much been hotly-tipped as luke-warmedly acknowledged. There's no wave of hype, no big budget promotion - even the delightfully simple video for new single Portrait has less than 5,000 views. The track may at first seem unremarkable, but it is in fact deceptively catchy and the call-backs in the verses add a sense of cosiness to proceedings.
These days it's hard to get noticed without being endorsed by the BBC Sound of... competition, or having a BRITs Critics' Choice Award slung at you - but that's not to say she isn't worthy of a second listen. The confident swagger of What A Day, sounding instantly familiar, recalls early Amy Macdonald, and in a world full of wailers such as Emeli Sandé, Josephine's breezy tunes are a breath of fresh oxygen.
Both tracks are taken from her upcoming debut album, also titled Portrait (naturally), which without any fanfare could easily go unnoticed like the unfortunate Candie Payne when she threw out an album during the heady days of 19602007. Still, Josephine is currently on tour with Paloma Faith, so fingers crossed that Radio 2 will snap her up at some point.
Glaswegian do-it-yourself outfit Chvrches automatically score points for their old-fashioned U, which was last seen on a Victorian headstone near you. Unsurprisingly, their alphabetic symbolism matches the gothic synthpop of their sound - they make the kind of downbeat 80s balladry that Hurts, in their Coldplay/Take That mimicry, neglected to include on their latest outing.
Lead singer Lauren Mayberry's imploring, girlish vocals may take some time to get used to, as they are literally soaking in her native accent (think the incomprehensibility of Cocteau Twins' Elizabeth Fraser meets the shrillness of Altered Images' Claire Grogan). It doesn't help that lyrics on their new single Recover (from the EP of the same name), are sung in a stop-start fashion to compliment the juddering, Dan Black-esque GarageBand production. Stick with it though - once you work out what she's actually singing, it proves to be quite affecting:
Recover is out on the 25th of March - by which time everyone will be calling it Recouer because of that pesky v. But wait! Recouer is also a word that is, bizarrely, an archaic version of the word recover. Huzzah!
With just 2 singles released, new sibling duo Wild Belle are already proving to be masters of modern rocksteady. Think Santigold using the same vintage filter employed by The Asteroids Galaxy Tour and Alice Gold - the result is a pair of head-naggingly breezy hot jams.
Chicagoan siblings Natalie and Elliot Bergman mix the former's decadent vocals with the latter's bold saxophone, evoking a live quality in their recordings; best showcased on the strutting first track It's Too Late:
The pair have recently enjoyed exposure from having new single Keep You featured in the surprise hit film Pitch Perfect. Creepy Turn Of The Screw-style barrier crossing in the video aside, it's a memorable tune of disappointment akin to original rocksteady pioneer Dawn Penn's You Don't Love Me (No No No).
There's something endearing in the simplicity of their lyrics - it's clear that they're not trying to impress you, and that's what's so impressive. The lack of breakdown or big chorus makes them the definition of a grower, and as you can hear, they'd be the perfect accompaniment to long Summer evenings.
Unfortunately, Wild Belle's debut album Isles is due out in March, so grab the parasols and flip flops and let's have a barbeque in the rain.
It's been 6 years since Alison Moyet's last album, and despite now being in her 50s she's looking younger than ever. She's sounding younger than ever too, with new track Changeling containing hints of a No Doubt-esque rhythm mixed with the darker diversions of fellow 80s survivors Depeche Mode.
Moyet's voice is a lot smoother than usual here, as she adopts a post-Red Shoes Kate Bush purr to tackle the mundanity of commuter traffic in the verses, before whipping out some unexpected high notes in the spellbinding chorus. With a fresher vibe and Guy Sigsworth taking care of production, upcoming 8th set The Minutes promises to be something of a mature soirée - downstairs at Eric's.
Yorkshire's finest Natalia Kills' comeback single Controversy could not have been a better way to describe her career to date. After reinventing herself from TV show starlet and one-time rapper to so-called "darkpop" trendsetter, via allegations of being a budget Lady Gaga, her new alter ego came not without its fair share of criticism.
Despite support from big names such as Akon (producer on her "first" single Mirrors), and will.i.am (her mentor, and collaborator on Free), Kills - real name Natalia Cappuccini - became pop's newest laughing stock. Having moved to the States and adopted a faux American accent a la Joss Stone, her debut album Perfectionist flopped in the US and didn't even chart in her homeland.
Full of references to death, beauty and dollars, the plot wore thin quickly as it was a set full of as much filler as killer. Still, she had her online fanbase to fall back on, and what better way to hit back at your critics than by returning with a song that "isn't a song"?
That's right. When asked in an interview about what inspired Controversy, she replied: "It's not exactly a song... more of a list of everything fucked up with our generation... nothing is shocking or controversial any more". Well, she summed up her new single immaculately - it's neither shocking nor controversial, but without any of the mischievousness that makes similarly scathing Marina & The Diamonds so appealing.
Notwithstanding such desperate attempts at catching the zeitgeist, her delivery of The List is just too similar to Janelle Monae's Many Moons breakdown. Also - who gives a monkeys about the Kool-Aid? What is this, ghetto Alice In Wonderland?
Speaking of ghetto, there's also a whiff of the Lana Del Reys about her in that she also has a dubious, Verbalicious past. The problem here is that it's the only time she's come close to getting a hit (Don't Play Nice, #11 GB).
However, whilst Lana has been a Europe-wide smash, regardless of her insistence on being portrayed as a a poor little rich girl who grew up to be the "gangster Nancy Sinatra", Cappuccino has only had mild success in Germany and Austria.
It's no surprise, then, that newly-leaked track Problem apparently samples the distinctive hollers that pop up in many of Lana Del Rey's offerings.
It all reminds me of when Lady Gaga first came out, and she referred to her sound as "pop music that's meant for the Louvre". While it's just as arrogant a comment to make, the difference is that Gags has shown to have both mouth and trousers by having hit after hit.
It's hard to say who Natalia is trying to be, but whoever it is, it doesn't seem to be herself. Brits don't like popstars who jump ship, and Americans are loving British acts right now - so why she keeps up the accent is a mystery.
Besides, this is the sort of music anyone could be making, and unless she pulls an identity out of the bag (or at least something more like Wonderland), she'll be adding her own career to that pathetic list of hers. Her 2nd album, Trouble, is due out later this year.
Hollandic vintage singing sensation Caro Emerald returns with a preview of her upcoming new album The Shocking Miss Emerald. Tangled Up opens with oh-so-continental accordions, and like a sequel to Back It Up - the word "up" is not the only similarity here - it's a mix of retro jazz with a modern twist that made her debut album Deleted Scenes From The Cutting Room Floor such an unexpected winner. The formula has worn thin here; the record scratches a la Back It Up's "do it again" breakdown sound suddenly dated, and the shakin'/quakin' rhyme reappears.
Most peculiarly of all, she seems to have adopted a more Anglicised vocal, with stiff annunciation that spoils the smooth flow of the song. Perhaps it's a nod to her success in Great Britain, as her first album went platinum here. Either way, Sophie Ellis-Bextor ought to fear for her cut-glass crown. Whilst there's nothing at all Shocking about Emerald's comeback, her second set is likely to be the soundtrack to many a dinner party in 2013.
This month's revisitation is to Canadian chanteuse Sarah McLachlan's debut Touch, released in 1988; her first and last album to experiment with an ethereal sound best described as Enya New-Agery meets the percussive leanings of Kate Bush, via the melodrama of Florence + The Machine. It's an album quite unlike anything else she recorded. For instance, the Medieval folk of opener Out Of The Shadows could not be further away from her later, more popular MOR style:
Though she continued to cover left-field topics, such as homewrecking on Adia and overdose on Angel, Touch was the final time the production matched her unconventional themes. Considering this is her only album not to be produced by Pierre Marchand, it's easy to see how she fell into the easy-listening world of Natalie Merchant and co from Solace onwards:
"There's no one left to finger"? Her 90s work is edgier than I remember.
Touch not only features complex musical arrangements, but also has McLachlan at her most lyrically complex. Lines like "Through your eyes the strains of battle, like a brooding storm / You're up and down these pristine velvet walls like focus never forms", from Vox, trounces later attempts at poignancy and gives fellow obscure lyricist Stevie Nicks a run for her Coke money.
These are adventures in McLachlan's teenage diaries. She was just 19 at the time of recording, yet the unabashed soul-searching is just what makes this album so affecting. The extended version of Vox (added to the re-issue in 1989), may sound like a dated 12" mix now, but the sassy, demanding outro is full of the spirit that's missing from much of her following works. Meanwhile on Steaming, she's less commanding, but just as captivating, as she waits for her lover's instruction:
There are the misfires. Uphill Battle is a wasteful instrumental, Strange World is a mundane track that doesn't feel fully realised, and closing track Ben's Song is a sparse, piano-led weepy that's lost without the driving instrumentation featured elsewhere.
The aria of the mystic title track is what one might expect from Charlotte Church now that she's gone all alternative, and despite its over-the-top lyrics, Sad Clown is carried by climbing synths, whilst the male vocals on Trust's chorus compliment McLachlan's higher register as she tackles more heartache.
Touch may be a smidgen too hysterical for those who are used to her safer, more ordinary offerings, but that's because it remains her most experimental and intriguing work to date. Now all she needs to do is ditch Pierre and re-hire Greg Reely - theatrical females are back in.
Although Vanbot hit the scene before them, comeback single Hold This Moment is bound to garner them comparisons to BBC Sound of 2012 nominees Niki And The Dove. High-vocal, Swedish sadpop is on the brink of becoming passé, but who can resist a bit of heartache sung over stirring, synth-laden beats?
Despite not currently belabelled, the duo (for they are two) stride on with preparing a 2nd album after their self-titled 2011 debut. However, with little to set them apart from the rest of the Scandi pack, like Tove Styrke, Rosannaand even Niki and her dove before them, Vanbot are unlikely to see online acclaim translate into sales. Hold This Moment is not a patch on their first single Make Me, Break Me, but it's still worth a few repeat plays before the next "new Robyn"pops up.
First of all, is it just me or are the two t's in the word Heartthrob annoying in their back-to-backness? No? Just me? Anyway, this, the 7th album by Canadian twins Tegan And Sara (their first in 4 years), has been branded a disappointing descent into the mainstream, but to my mind they have always been an indiepop act. Heartthrob, out now, simply tips the balance a little further towards the pop side.
With much of the production being producted by Greg Kurstin (one half of The Bird And The Bee and knob-twiddler -not a lesbian jibe- on hits by All Saints, Kylie &c.), Heartthrob packs more of a pop punch than the duo's previous outings (again, not a lesbian pun). Lead single Closer, their first point blank aim at the UK market, is the most poppy track on an album that otherwise deals with downbeat themes hidden beneath slick, uptempo tunes.
The music here is mostly straight-forward - I'm Not Your Hero is an adventure in insecurity, whilst I Couldn't Be Your Friend charts the prickly disintegration of a relationship. Now I'm All Messed Up tries in vain to be poignant, and I Was A Fool is like Bournville chocolate - smooth, yet plain. Generally their harmonies are taut, and the songs catchy, and it all builds up to the final track Shock To Your System, in which they stray into Niki And The Dove territory:
With its apocalyptic intro, driving beat and disillusioned vocals ("Who gave you reason?" is a haunting repetition), its certainly the most alternative and evocative track on the album. Elsewhere, the tone isn't worlds away from the bruised yet hopeful leanings of other Kurstin clients such as Kelly Clarkson or Pink. That's not necessarily a bad thing - it gave them their highest US album chart placing at #3 - but it gives me a sense that they should experiment with the darker sides of electropop next time round.
Likely to be new to approximately 0% of Sky Ferreira's fanbase, Everything Is Embarrassing is finally getting a release in the UK on an EP of the same name. Originally featuring on 2012's Ghost EP, this is a slice of of despondent, 80s disheartened pining not too dissimilar to Losing You by Solange, and is the kind of comedown song you listen to after a night out dancing with a broken heart.
It's her first release on these shores since the criminally overlooked One (#64 in Summer 2010), and although it shares a similarly imploring tone, Everything has a much more mature sound. With an ominous computerised male vocal a la Jessie Ware's If You're Never Gonna Move and subtle instrumentation, it may be too much of a grower to hit big - but it definitely teases great things from her long overdue debut album I'm Not Alright (release date TBC).
Fresh from getting trolled by a Tumblr hater who basically called her a rip-off of "DIY" act Grimes, and compared her unfavourably to fellow major-label act Sky Ferreira (curiously, all 3 of them appeared together on the cover of V Magazine back in the Autumn), Charli XCX releases her 6th (!) single this week.
You (Ha Ha Ha) samples a track by Gold Panda of the same name, and mixes obscenity-laden Kate Nash stroppiness with MIA-style beats. Her vocals shift seamlessly from sung-spoken verses to the triumphant, booming chorus, and is a return to catchy form after the dreary You're The One. This should mark another tiptoe towards the mainstream, in the massive game of Grandmother's Footsteps that is Charli's achingly slow rise to fame.
Ever since Eurythmics hit big in the early 80s, there has been a set formula for male/female electropop duos. The girl sings, and is the face of the band, whilst everyone wonders in this post-Bat For Lashes world if it's a moniker or indeed a band name. The guy does all the serious music stuff behind the scenes, and whilst she is the focus of interviews he comes across quiet and mysterious (read: personality bypass). The golden rule is that at least one of them has to dress like Mr Benn vs. Brick Lane and dye their hair unnatural colours.
New duo MS MR (aka Lizzy Plapinger and Max Hershenow - try naming them after a few drinks) may or may not fit those categories. What's certain, however, is that they have already been making huge waves on the internet's metaphorical ocean. It's clear to hear why - MS MR's Hurricane is the kind of "dark pop" Natalia Kills/Verbalicious wishes she could make, and the supporting clip is David Lynch meets Lana Del Rey's Video Games:
Charting popular culture all the way from the bright side (a snippet of ABBA's Take A Chance On Me video) to the dark (a scene from 80s low-budget horror film Xtro), to the downright weird (at 1:10 there's a naked man holding an expensive breed of cat) - the subliminal images flash by so fast that stopping the video to catch up would ruin the song.
Caught somewhere between the melancholia of Desires, and Summer Camp with extra lashings of ginger depression, Hurricane chills you from the moment the intro drops. The haunting continues with their thunderstorm of a followup Bones, which, like Hurricane, is taken from the EP Candy Bar Creep Show:
Whether or not MS MR are Mr and Mrs (she's taken a feminist stand but refused to change her title by changing her original title to an ambiguous title - how hipster), remains to be seen. That said, the angst has got to come from somewhere, so if anything they're probably divorced.
Either way, their debut album Second Hand Rapture is due out in May.
The cynic inside of me wonders if Haim, the new hotly-tipped 3-piece sister act from L.A., really deserved to win the BBC Sound of 2013 competition. In the Autumn, adverts for their Don't Save Me video were popping up all over Youtube, and that sort of exposure doesn't come without a foot in the door and the backing of a major label.
Besides, being nominated for the Sound of... prize is somewhat of a poison chalice - Marina & The Diamonds anyone? - and Haim appeared to be well on their way to success already. That said, their debut single proper is the definition of an earworm, with a vibe so quintessentially Californian that it gives Fleetwood Mac a run for their money and leaves Katy Perry in the shade. The video (this decade's answer to Fragma's Toca's Miracle) completes the energetic atmosphere:
Notwithstanding the track's surprisingly poor performance (#32 UK, a low-charting first outing is seemingly par for the course for Sound of... selections), Haim have clearly got a knack for a good tune, and lead singer Danielle's Michael Jackson-esque vocal tics complete their Summery, familiar vibe. Just like their similarly infectious label-mates The Pierces, Polydor are bound to give their career more life than their tragic teen idol namesake, starting with their next single Falling:
