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!
She was the first member to jump out of the Sugababes car before it crashed, and with a reformation of the original line-up recently confirmed, it's time to welcome Siobhan Donaghy back to the room.
In 2001 record label London dropped the 'Babes but signed Shiv, and she debuted with the rock-influenced Revolution In Me two years later. First single Overrated, a dig at the original 3-piece's first hit Overload, made the top 20, then further singles bombed.
She returned in 2007 with a new Parlophone contract under her arm and an experimental flair up her sleeve, standing out amongst Take That's comeback and Rihanna's meteorological reign, and it's her second album, Ghosts, that earns her such a warm welcome back.
Don’t Give It Up, the lead single, opens the set with a galloping electronic riff that plummets into a swooning chorus, setting the scene for a Cocteau Twins-styled comeback.
The grand ballad So You Say followed, replete with firework sounds and hypnotic harmonies, a sister track perhaps to Patrick Wolf's Bluebells or Frou Frou's Hear Me Out.
Even Ghost's more straight-forward tracks have a kookier edge, such as the Jem-like breeze of Sometimes, with its non-lyrical chorus made up entirely of whoops and shrieks, and would have made an excellent 3rd cut.
Admittedly, there are a few throwaway tracks. There's A Place sounds like a One Touch demo whilst the strut and funk of 12-Bar Acid Blues (god only knows what that title means), doesn't quite lift the rhyme-by-numbers number off the ground.
The more peculiar moments make up for the less inspiring ones - Goldfish, (with hints of Kate Bush and Felt Mountain era Goldfrapp) highlights Siobhan's vocal power, as the album's producer James Sanger wraps her voice in a celestial breakdown and an almost trance-inducing climax.
Other songs are more low-key, yet still come with intriguing whispers and sweeping refrains aplenty. Styfling, a track that was left off the album, was later released as a remix by Square 1. Ignore the version with the rap segments and go for this:
The album closer is the title piece, and as a song in reverse, bonkers lines like ‘fuel full fat her glass of milk’ are transformed into a spooky chant, giving Roma Ryan's Loxianlanguage tracks on Enya's Amarantine album a run for their money.
Overall, despite being unsuccessful (it peaked at #92), the album is a healthy mix of radio friends and complex tunes. Whether or not the Sugababes 1.0 reunion will showcase Ms Donaghy's esoteric leanings remains to be seen. Until then, this is the go-to album for anyone who thinks that Nicola Roberts was the first girlbander to do Odd 'n' Peculiar solo.
