Holly Throsby – A Heart Divided (Video)
I could tell just be looking at her photo that I would like this singer, and I was right. The world may not have been in need of another Butterly Boucher, but there’s certainly no harm in having one. Like Butterfly, Holly is Australian, with a nice look and a lovely sound. Her new song (from the new album, A Loud Call), A Heart Divided, is a simple and unusual acoustic song, a little repetitive but its distinct sound lets her off. When he was in Australia, Jens Lekman played cello and mandolin for Holly onstage, and if that’s not a sign of aceness, I don’t know what is (well, being friends with Alphabeat, maybe). I like how distinct her Australian accent is. I guess they are harder to hide than a British one, but it’s lovely that they often don’t try.
70% Poptastic!
Operator Please – Two For My Seconds (Video)
Because I wasn’t particularly impressed by A Song About Ping Pong, despite liking the idea of the group, I never listened to any of their other songs until a month or two ago. I soon regretted my hesitation, as their songs were mostly pretty good, especially one called Leave It Alone which I absolutely love (it’s the Standing In The Way Of Control follow-up that never was). Two For My Seconds is their new single and it’s definitely more in the style of Leave It Alone than Ping Pong, although not quite as good. It’s hard to describe their overall sound, but if you like Lillix you should definitely give them a listen, especially if you didn’t care for Ping Pong.
78% Poptastic!
Chasing Bailey – Little By Little (Video)
This is like a country band fronted by Ashlee Simpson, but there’s something really cute and infectious about it. I was smiling as soon as it began. This is their first ever single (although they’ve been together 7 years – three are siblings) and it’s not amazing, but as Simon Cowell always says, there’s little more important than the likeability factor when trying to win over the general public. I’m not quite convinced yet to buy their album, but I’ll definitely be keeping an eye Chasing Bailey to see how they fare and what they come out with next. Go to their MySpace to hear their sweet (but inevitably less Swedish-sounding) version of Young Folks by Peter, Bjorn and John.
77% Poptastic!