Rollo Jean
Rollo wins points for the authenticity of his glam-pop throwback sound, but what really got me on side was the catchy brilliance of his music. Cellar of Love was an instant favourite with a great chorus, but I also loved the quirky Bowie-esque track Gloria Marsden (is it about Matthew Marsden’s mother?). This kind of retro-pop is a very competitive area these days, but Rollo’s music stands out because, like all the best retro-pop songs, his sound like they could be decades old and yet still sound very current. He also benefits from having a variety of influences – David Bowie is obviously a major one, but I can hear 80s synth-pop in Sweet Lies and Cellar of Love is disco-tastic.
Poptasticness: 76% Hit potential: 57%
Bright Light Bright Light
You may remember young Welshman Rod Thomas from his releases as a solo artist, which were given the Popjustice seal of approval a couple of years ago. At the time his style was slightly twee acoustic indie-pop, but he’s recently rebranded himself as an electro-pop artist and with his past musical experience this makes for an interesting new sound. My favourites on first listen are Good Times, which reminds me of a Spice Girls song (luckily one of their best!), and the catchy new single A New Word To Say, which is available for free download on his website. I’m not sure any of these tracks are huge hits in waiting but there’s definitely an audience for this kind of music and they’re going to be delighted with Rod’s new direction.
Poptasticness: 84% Hit potential: 64%
And Rod is ultimately a very charming fella is he not? I am checking out Rollo right this very second and quite liking what I hear. Not blowing me away, but decent enough 🙂
And Rod is ultimately a very charming fella is he not? I am checking out Rollo right this very second and quite liking what I hear. Not blowing me away, but decent enough 🙂
He is indeed! Let’s hope he does well.
He is indeed! Let's hope he does well.