Missy Higgins – Steer (Video)
The Aussie queen of acoustic-pop had some great singles on her last album, her supremely popular (in Australia at least, where it was officially the biggest hit of 2005) debut The Sound Of White, although she never quite broke through in the UK. The first release from her follow-up CD is more of the same style. It’s very nice but doesn’t make the same impact as the unusual, clever sound and lyrics of Scar, or the adorable-ness of The Special Two. Still, I think she’s way ahead of UK counterparts such as Sandi Thom and KT Tunstall, and it will certainly be a huge hit in her home country. The album On A Clear Night will be out on April 28th.
74% Poptastic!
Booty Luv – Shine (Video)
Big Brovaz may have fallen at every hurdle of late, but there’s no need for concern over the girls’ careers, since they’ve found new success fronting the dance act Booty Luv. Their cover of Tweet’s Boogie 2Nite was a no.2 hit in the UK charts and stayed in the top 10 for many weeks. They follow it up with a danced-up cover of Luther Vandross’ song Shine. If it sounds familiar then you may recognise the sample of My Forbidden Lover by Chic, which was put to much better use on Alcazar’s amazing 2001 single Sexual Guarantee. This is an alright dance-pop song, but I do find the words a bit too fast and complex for a clubbing song, which always do better with more sparse, easy to remember (and sing along) vocals.
66% Poptastic!
Freeform Five – No More Conversations (Mylo Mix) (Video)
This lot seem to be doing a Just Jack – finally getting some success years after they were meant to, but ruining it with songs that are nowhere near the standard they’re capable of. Freeform Five (who in fact only have 4 members) released a fantastic pop album called Strangest Things in 2004, which included a wide variety of ace songs with writing credits for Hannah Robinson and Karen Poole among others. They sounded like the Scissor Sisters would if Ana and Jake were replaced with Kylie Minogue and JC Chasez. This song was on that album, but not in this remixed form which makes it sounds like any old dance track. They aren’t just any old dance band and deserve further research from all of you DP readers, whatever you think of this single.
78% Poptastic!
Sophie Ellis-Bextor – Me And My Imagination (Audio)
I love this song and this video, as I think all fans of Sophie will, but I’ve been wondering lately if her distinctive style is the reason for her success being quite limited. Those who like her vocal and musical style will, if they are like me anyway, enjoy everything she records, but those who don’t are unlikely to ever get on board, because her flexibility is limited. I love her personality, the way she looks and dresses, the fact that she’s married to the funny little one from The Feeling rather than some tall, dark, brooding guy as you might expect of such a sophisticated lady as Sophie, but musically she does seem to split opinions quite distinctly. Perhaps this fabulously catchy, lightly disco-poppy track will be the one to bring her back to the top of the charts but it could just as easily lead her back into obscurity. We’ll have to wait and see.
89% Poptastic!