Here comes part 3! Click back a few posts for parts 1 and 2. There’s a bit more obvious pop this time around, but a couple of tasty semi-obscurities and treats in there too. All good fun. 2009 has been a pretty good year in pop, I’m starting to think…
Numbers 30 to 21 are behind the clicK…
Can’t really go anywhere with this one beyond repeating everything I said when discussing Remedy. After a false start with the uncharacteristic single and video for ‘New In Town’, Miss Boots is very much back in the game, playing to type with this synths-in-space video and another single that, well, sounds like Little Boots. All in all a very decent reminder of why we liked her in the first place, a cracking chorus and that’s really all you need to know. Some good remixes doing the rounds too. A few can be found here from Treasure Fingers and (even better) Yes Giantess. Video below the click.
If I’d come to this not having heard anything else by Vicky Boots, I’d have been a tad perplexed at the inescapable hype surrounding her. While there are probably only about three people in the country yet to have heard of her, you’d have to assume there are a fair few more who haven’t bothered seeking out the majestic Stuck On Repeat or the pleasingly bouncy Meddle. New in Town is a bit middling by comparison. There are some nice little moments, and yr lady is wearing a pretty stunning shiny blue number in the vid, but it’s not earth-shattering. Considerably better is the Fred Falke remix, which pushes the buttons marked ‘epic’ and ‘proper pop’ and lifts the original’s mannered stylings off to somewhere altogether more inspiring.
Fact of the day: 90% of my top ten singles of 2008 had female singers. Only 60% of the top 50 though. I’m not totally against male vocals, y’know..
Here’s Numbers 10 to 6 in my countdown. The rest in a couple of hours…
Single of the Week: David Holmes – I Heard Wonders
Initially unassuming, reserved, delicate, this track creeps up on you over multiple plays to reveal a layered, hypnotic beast that builds up to the sort of euphoric explosions that Pulp used to specialise in. Indeed, you could mistake this for some sort of dream collaboration between Jarvis and Kevin Shields. It’s pretty special. And it’s nice to see that the Belfast producer has still got it, after several years off making soundtracks for films that begin with the word ‘Ocean.’
The video version is a bit shoddy, so head over to MySpace for a better listen. Play it loud.