This might seem a bit “young” for my usual tastes, but Little Boots is an interesting act with a sound that makes it clear that someone – whether it’s the artist or her producer(s) – has a fixation on an ’80s-style sound that I used to know as “new wave.” (These days I think they call it electropop; I missed the memo when this change happened.) This sound has won Little Boots a consistent showing in the charts in the UK and Europe over the past several months, and it’s a sound that’s usually backed up by some pretty catchy songwriting.
And how much credibility does Little Boots have with the (formerly) new wave crowd? Enough that her debut album features a duet with Human League frontman Philip Oakey – if that’s not an old-school new wave stamp of approval, then I’m not sure there is one. It’s also one of the highlights of the entire album, but not the only one by far. The dance-ready single “Remedy” is slightly more modern, but still puts wavering, wobbly ’80s analog-style synths front and center in the mix. “Stuck On Repeat” also smacks of a strong ’80s new wave influence, with a pulsating, repeating synth behind the entire song. It’s meant to be dance music, of course, but it stands up quite well musically.
“Symmetry” and “Stuck On Repeat” are just two of the standouts; others include “Earthquake”, “Click” and “Hearts Collide”. The first single, “New In Town”, doesn’t strike me as having the staying power of some of the above, but it was popular enough in the UK. At any rate, enough of Hands is strong enough that Little Boots is an act that merits watching in the future.
- New In Town (3:19)
- Earthquake (4:04)
- Stuck On Repeat (3:21)
- Click (3:16)
- Remedy (3:19)
- Meddle (3:16)
- Ghost (3:02)
- Mathematics (3:25)
- Symmetry (4:30)
Tune Into My Heart (3:41)
- Hearts Collide (3:45)
- No Brakes (4:01)
Released by: Atlantic
Release date: 2009
Total running time: 42:59
