New Pop on the Block

Kyla La Grange – Walk Through Walls (Listen)
Many female artists have been compared to Kate Bush in recent years, and I’m sure Kate has been a big influence for Marina, Florence and the rest, but Kyla La Grange is the first I’ve heard who actually sounds like her. There’s a fantastic drama to Walk Through Walls which makes me love it even though it’s not catchy in the traditional way. It still grabs my attention. I like that although there are so many quirky girl singers around at the moment, it feels like Kyla is the heir to a lineage of creative female artists rather than simply one of the current clan. The only problem she may find is that Clare Maguire jumps in front of her to grab that niche, and Clare herself is doing something pretty special (and already has her foot in the door) so she will be very tough competition.
81% Poptastic!

Adele – Set Fire To The Rain (Listen)
I love Adele as a person (the fact she once got sent home from school for fighting over Pop Idol certainly helps!) and it’s almost not worth stating that she has a fantastic voice, but so far none of her songs have really been to my taste. Therefore I was pretty excited to hear that the second single from new album 21 would be a track written by Fraser T Smith, one of the UK’s best current songwriters. Set Fire To The Rain has a more traditional pop structure, and is the perfect track to take Adele from a success to a superstar. It’s interesting how Duffy and Adele, who came onto the music scene at a similar time, have gone in completely opposite directions with their second albums and I’m very pleased it was Adele who won in the end. The music industry can learn a lot from their contrasting career trajectories.
74% Poptastic!

Patrick Wolf – The City (Listen)
When I went to see Patrick live at the end of 2010, I was feeling quite detached. I used to be a big fan but couldn’t even summon up enough interest to buy his last album. However, my fandom was very much revived upon hearing the new material Patrick played at the gig. He may have been uncomfortable with the ‘selling out’ vibe of the Magic Position album, but an album as obtuse as The Bachelor was not a good follow up. He should have made an album that retained the qualities his newfound fanbase loved about The Magic Position, but also had the distinct Patrick-ness that makes him a fantastic, unique artist. Luckily it seems he has come to his senses and the new album Lupercalia could well be his best work yet. The City was one of many great new songs I heard at the gig and is a spot on choice for his next single as it’s a catchy pop song with broad appeal, but it’s still perfectly Patrick.
80% Poptastic!