Marina & The Diamonds – Oh No!
Marina Diamandis caused quite a stir with the release of her debut album, The Family Jewels. Its blend of sparkling high-camp pop and dark undertones proved to be a potent mix and rightly established her as a leading light amongst the current crop of female pop stars.
Although the album has been a critical and commercial success, her singles so far have come and gone almost unnoticed. Fourth single ‘Oh No!’, though, is the song that should cement Marina’s position at the business end of the singles chart. Bursting with youthful pop exuberance, ‘Oh No!’ is pure ADD pop designed to overload the senses and infect the brain. The high-tempo melody bounces along relentlessly, constantly competing for attention with Marina’s playful vocal soundbytes: “If you are not very careful, your possessions will possess you / TV taught me how to feel, now real-life has no appeal”.
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The Hoosiers – Choices
If this first single is anything to go by then The Hoosiers’ second album, The Illusion of Safety, should be a much more mature and accomplished beast than their inconsistent and at times frustrating debut. ‘Choices’ crackles along an assured and confident electro-pop melody which opens up into a proper pop chorus – it’s good enough to believe that this Anglo-English trio might be more than the silly, gurning one-trick ponies their first album suggested.
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The Divine Comedy – I Like
Everyone’s favourite music eccentric, Neil Hannon, still seems to be enjoying his role as the UK’s sole purveyor of outrageously simple and catchy pop songs. This latest single from Bang Goes the Knighthood sees him on top form – expertly capturing the light-headed feeling of being in love and shouting it from the rooftops. The gloriously infectious chorus will lodge itself in your head and keep you in a good mood all day.
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Corinne Bailey Rae – Closer
Released earlier this year, Leeds singer-songwriter Corinne Bailey Rae’s The Sea won rave reviews. Its brutally honest exploration of Corinne’s grief (after the death of her husband) and beautifully crafted melodic soul got the ultimate recognition last month with a Mercury Prize nomination.
New single ‘Closer’, although almost certainly released in an attempt to cash in on that Mercury nod, has all the qualities that make Corinne so likeable. The breezy, jazz-club vocals adorn the smooth rnb production and suck you into her lovelorn, but resolutely optimistic, world.
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