Already dubbed by the press/ blog world as the "UK Santigold", South Africa-born/ UK-raised newcomer MPHO makes quite the introductory statement on her debut single "Box N Locks", some of which is because it's main musical hook revolves around a catchy sample of Martha & The Muffins' 1980 new wave-punk classic "Echo Beach" , but mostly because she's already on the usually second or third album topic of yearning to break free from the pigeonholing of others. Kicking things off with the admittably charming semi-sneer "Feisty little brown girl/ Raised in Brixton town girl/ [...]
The last time UK-based girl group giants the Sugababes attempted to break out in the States, seemingly the only corner of the globe they had yet to conquer, they were met with some surprisingly disappointing results: uber-catchy 2003 single "Hole In The Head" couldn't reach higher than #96 on the Billboard Hot 100, leading to an eventual cancellation of their US debut Three . Now, six years (and millions of worldwide records sold) later, the girls are preparing another go at US fame, and this time seem to have a stronger shot [...]
Loyal site-watchers have probably gotten the hint that we're big fans of basically whatever Doctor Rosen Rosen does...and who could blame us, seeing that his darkly shaded, synth-based re-imaginings are always ace. On his latest project, the good Doc ambitiously opted on remixing the entirety of Lily Allen 's half-year-old sophomore LP It's Not Me, It's You , and damn if he hasn't gotten us to fall in love with the English pop pixie's set all over again thanks to his efforts, which basically entail replacing [...]
The past decade-and-a-half has seen so many classic pop and rock favorites sampled, interpolated or chopped up for some brand new pop, hip hop or R&B creation that we probably shouldn't be too stirred that someone would think of messing with Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" . But when we heard London-born R&B tart Cherri V 's "Til The Sun Comes Up" and instantly recognized it's utilization of both the '90's grunge-pop behemoth's vocal and guitar melodies, we must admit we were floored: on one hand intrigued by such a ballsy move; on the other, ready to cry [...]
Mr. Hudson might have drew the attention of critics and a couple of BBC radio playlist-makers for the acclaimed 2007 release A Tale of Two Cities (we beg you to give that one a listen), but since contributing some key moments to Kanye 's 808s (he co-produced "Street Lights" and provided back-up vocals on "Say You Will" and "Paranoid" ) and earning a spot on the G.O.O.D. Music label, interest has grown a thousand-fold in what this intriguing, X-Men supervillain-looking figure has to offer on his upcoming [...]
Fun video from UK Pop/Electro group We Have Band ! Formed by Dede W, Darren Bancroft and Thomas W. WHB appears to be spreading their love - they're booked from Now through October (and probably later) throughout the UK, Netherlands and are looking to tour the states. I first heard about WHB because of this video last month and have been following them since, secretly hoping for someone to tear up their minimal electro/pop beat (although very good by itself) with some heavy distortion. If they keep rolling with the Filthy Dukes or some of the [...]
While we won't be as quick to jump on the increasingly tiresome (and oh-so-premature) "next Amy Winehouse" hype-tags that critics have been so eager to plant on England-born newcomer Pixie Lott , we will admit to being slightly won over by the 18-year-old's beyond-her-age vocal talent, and judging by the chart-topping success of her catchy debut single, "Mama Do (Uh Oh Uh Oh)", it seems we're not alone in that position. Yet another dose of the handclap-aided, retro-soul-tinged pop we've heard close to a million times in recent years by various other instantly acclaimed chanteuses, "Mama Do" [...]
It's feels odd that the powers-that-be would decide on pushing Lily Allen's politically-minded "Fuck You" as < em>It's Not Me, It's You 's next international single seeing as though the track seemed to carry a lot more weight when it premiered online last summer. Back then (when it was going under the title of "Guess Who Batman"), it's main target (ol' President W.) was still in office, giving the song a hefty controversy buzz, and the kiddie-TV candy-pop beat that formed the cut's musical foundation felt like an exciting sneak peak to how Allen's then-still [...]
"I'm Not Your Toy", the latest leakage from the La Roux camp, continues their promise of a killer debut album as yet another hooky morsel of digi-new wave. Supported by itchy drum patterns and a whimsical, steel drum-like synth sparkle on the hook, the carnival-esque "Toy" doesn't take too long to get stuck in your brain, but there's more to it than it's sugary musical tricks. It's sharp-fanged lyric centers on a boyfriend who's cruelly playing with her heart ("It's all false love and affection/ You don't want me, you just want the attention"), and [...]
Dear Lily Allen, It's not fair that you're not serenading me by my bedside right now. It's not fair that you're cute as a button yet terribly feisty. It's also not fair to the readers that I'm taking advantage of the title of this song and writing a whole lot of nonsense.
Former Mis-Teeq member (anyone remember this ?)-turned-solo R&B-Pop starlet Alesha Dixon may not have big chops to call her own, but she definitely plays to her paper-thin-voiced strengths on the steamy "Italians Do It Better", a simmering tease that effectively houses her baby-doll purrings against a soft-focus, '80's soul soundtrack. Featured on the Brit's 2008 release The Alesha Show , the burlesque-y track finds her urging a "Romeo" to dig deep into his bag of kinky bedroom tricks and prove the song title wrong: "Let's get creative/ Think of all [...]
La Roux find another 8-bit digi-White-funk playground to explore inner feelings in on "In For The Kill", the equally-agreeable follow-up to their much-hyped Fall debut "Quicksand" (which Maestro didn't realize carried a slight lesbianic tinge until recently, making that record even more hot). This time around, singer Elly Jackson's blurred falsetto latches onto a lyric in which she shrugs off all traces of shyness in an effort to take a platonic relationship to that next level. All tumbled words, "full stops and exclamation marks", Elly nervously lays all her cards on the table, unable to [...]
On "223, Lily pierces another cotton candy foundation of cutesy pop with the dark pangs of reality, telling the tale of a woman who, after spending her party-loving twenty-somethings living life without a care in the world, is suddenly slapped across the face with the emptiness of her existence as she edges into age 30. Stuck with an "alright" job with no true love in sight ("All she wants is a boyfriend/ She gets one-night stands"), the woman teeters on a nervous breakdown, Lily's mocking hook of "Sad but it's true/ How society tells her life is already [...]
When Lily Allen announced earlier this year that her new album was leaving the summery ska loops behind for electro-pop terrain, it felt like the beginnings of the end for the near-instantaneous UK pop sensation. What would be the point of her continuing her career if she didn't at least try to milk the classic reggae-tinged structures of "LDN" and "Smile" a bit longer? But then, over the next few months, new material began to leak, and all seemed right in the world again as the other appealing aspect to her art, [...]
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