La Roux is back and just as 80s as ever, but with a twist: singer Elly Jackson has not only jettisoned the over-the-top vocals and over-the-top production, but also her former producer/bandmate/general no1curr Ben Langmaid. She's also recently confessed to a fear of fame (a la Sia)and has adopted a sad-disco sound, so she's right on trend on all accounts. 5 years is a long time in pop, but the elusive chanteuse's half-decade hiatus has brought us a more mature and confident artist, best showcased on promo single #1 Let Me Down Gently:
Promo single #2, Uptight Downtown, is a more instant affair. Whilst LMDG takes you out for a cigarette, drunkenly confesses everything to you, then pulls you back inside for a spot of crying-at-the-discotheque action, UD drags you straight to the dancefloor and never you mind about that drink you just ordered. Conjuring the spirits of David Bowie's Let's Dance, its highlight is surely the portentous trumpets at the end of the pre-chorus:
If we've learned anything from all this, aside from Elly still thinking she's Tilda Swinton's daughter, it's that at least one thing hasn't changed about her - that trademark look of disdain. Thank goodness her new music is just as superior as her snarl.
La Roux's 2nd album, Trouble In Paradise, is set for release on 21st July.
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.
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.
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.
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:
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.
The accomplished, diverse sounds of Kimbra Johnson (for that is her full name) make it hard to believe she is only 21. Drawing comparisons to Nina Simone and Florence + The Machine, her music takes in polished, bouncy pop with Cameo Lover...
...to the Imogen Heap-esque kook of broody number Settle Down.
She's currently heading up a promo campaign in the US with the Settle Down EP, yet she diversifies further with the current (and third) Australasian single Good Intent; a slick film noir of a track with references to harlots and infidelity.
It's a jazzy piece with a spike that's missing from her mainstream soulful contemporary Caro Emerald's output - an edge that has helped propel Kimbra's debut album Vows into the top 5 in both Australia and in her Kiwi homeland.
With features on Miami Horror and Gotye tunes also under her belt, and American promotion well underway, it shouldn't be long until the musky tones of this musical chameleon come wafting onto European shores as well.
You may be forgiven for thinking that this "new" artist looks rather familiar, and you'd be right. Introducing the new alter ego of Marina & The Diamonds, whose jaded return marks a surprising, yet strangely not unexpected, change in sound.
Electra Hart embodies "the lies, illusions and death of the American Dream". The emotional first track, Fear & Loathing, has the world-weariness of a gambler who's lost all her money in Vegas, while the video suggests that Marina (sorry, Electra) has returned to the casino's hotel. There, she cuts her hair just short of Britney-esque levels in a bid to escape herself.
The transition continues as the next song sees Ms Hart heading to the dancefloor, with the polished and upbeat, yet still idiosyncratic, Radioactive. There's something off-putting about the sudden shift in pace - the song is produced by Stargate (Norwegian knob-twiddlers for Rihanna, Ne-Yo) and is clearly a calculated stab at nabbing a David Guetta-style chart hit at last.
Even though there's a different vibe, the song's lyrics are classic Marina, chronicling a fear of love and a relationship breakdown - another chapter in the life of a singer whose unique selling point is her proud self-awareness.
It's undeniable that Marina/Electra has one of the best set of pipes in pop music today, yet there's something unnerving about her dogged introspection. It would be refreshing to hear her move away from her neuroses and cover new ground.
Despite those drawbacks, the Electra Hart enterprise could give her the success she needs.After coming 2nd on the BBC Sound of 2010 list (behind Ellie Goulding), her debut album The Family Jewels slid down the charts without providing any smash hits.
The name thing is confusing mind, but fear not! Her official releases will still come under her usual moniker, so no messy scrobbles on last.fm. For those of you after a more familiar recording of Radioactive - there's an acoustic version available to download for free on her website now. The original is released on 3rd October.
Make no mistake – London-based Marina Diamandis is difficult to pigeon-hole. Adopting a moniker that connects herself to fans, (her “Diamonds”), Marina’s style varies from sparse, piano-based number Obsessions, (a look at the mundanity of life that gained lazy Kate Nash comparisons)...
...to the jungly vibe and "cuckoo!" shrieks on her forthcoming debut single proper Mowgli’s Road.
The latter is an odd choice, perhaps, for her introduction to the mainstream, but for an artist who discusses on her blog everything from female sexuality and Britney Spears to record labels’ desire to release “hit me quick with the big fat chorus” tunes, this comes as no surprise.
Opinionated and peculiar, wild and reflective, Marina’s arty videos and lyrics such as – “You’re lovable, so lovable… but you’re just troubled” from I Am Not A Robot make her instantly likeable and easy to identify with. Her first album The Family Jewels is due out in early 2010, but for now treasure this diamond of a voice whilst her gems are still underground favourites.
There is something so filmic about Paloma Faith's voice that whenever she sings it is easy to imagine her sitting atop a piano in a smoky bar and serenading the crowd. Though she has garnered comparisons to Amy Winehouse and Duffy, Paloma’s music is more alluring than the former and less one-dimensional than the latter.
Blair Mackichan, the man responsible for producing Lily Allen and Sia's UK debuts, also twiddled the knobs on Paloma's first album. Do You Want The Truth Or Something Beautiful? is modern pop once again looking to the past, but in a refreshing display of individuality Paloma chooses sophisticated jazz-tinged tunes over 80s pastiche.
Yes, she shares the same flame-red hair as La Roux, yet her music couldn't be more different. First single Stone Cold Sober is a bold introduction, reflecting her dramatic appearance and style of the album. Her debut is a strong, lovingly-crafted set and one of the classiest of 2009.
