New Pop On The Block

Maximo Park – Our Velocity (Watch)
I never loved or hate this band, although I could see the charms of Graffiti and Apply Some Pressure, and again I am quite apathetic about their new single, although it is very 80s which of course is a good thing. It’s quite messy and jerky, but that’s their style, so I guess I’ll have to give it a chance, as their songs do tend to grow on me. I’ll get back to you on this one, as I have a feeling it could be their best song ever when I get used to it.
72% Poptastic!

Avril Lavigne – Girlfriend (Listen)
Like Hilary Duff, Avril’s another teen-pop star I’ve never really got on board with, but I’m extremely surprised to find I may soon be changing my stance. What I don’t understand is how she can sound younger and more fun now that she’s grown up and married? Now she sounds about 12, like she’s taken cues from Shebang, Kim-Lian, Shampoo or Blog 27! Certainly not what I expected from her new material. How is she going to combine this with her new grown-up image? It’s confusing but I’m not complaining. All singers should follow Avril in ditching all serious musicianship in favour of music aimed at the under-10s!
90% Poptastic!

Idlewild – No Emotion (Watch)
I really loved a few of the songs from Idlewild’s last album (particularly Love Steals Us From Loneliness) so I was interested to hear their new single. It’s quite good, a lot more upbeat than Love Steals, and actually quite danceable! It’s the closest I think Idlewild will ever get to going electro, and the video is cool. I’d say it’s probably my 3rd fave of their songs, following Love Steals and El Capitan, and it’s growing on me with every listen. Great ‘woah’s!
81% Poptastic!

Katherine McPhee – Over It (Listen)
I had an irrational dislike of Katherine on American Idol – she seemed nice and talented, but there was something in her I couldn’t support. However, she was one of the few contestants to be well enough suited to music that could actually have commercial success. For her first original single she’s gone for a very commercial sound, a Jojo rip-off, but it lacks the ace catchiness of Leave or TLTL. Katherine is going to have to do much better if she doesn’t want to play second best to a 16-year-old who only has 2 good songs.
66% Poptastic!

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