5 Upcoming Albums You Need To Watch Out For This Spring
What better way to bring Spring to a close than a medley of upcoming musical treats from the world of Pop.
Santigold - Master Of My Make-Believe Release Date 23rd April
It's feels like a long time coming but finally the wheels are in motion for Santigold's return to the music frontline and the cannons are thundering away. After all the name change confusion (Santogold becoming Santigold seemingly overnight due to a potential lawsuit case) and a critically acclaimed debut that didn't really match it commercially, it seems Santigold (real name Santi White) is ready for battle and the tracks we've heard already affirm this war stance in the face of the notorious 'second album slump'. Go featuring Karen O (lead chanteuse of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs) has been floating around cyberspace since this time last year but it's Volta-era Bjork inside Bowser's cave during an army invasion sound still has impact in bucket loads. First single Disparate Youth follows similar lines, mixing dub beats with guitar slashes and reggae-esque grooves that march along at staedy pace to Santi's nonchalant singing. Although its been a bit love/hate with her fanbase, it's the more recent buzz single Big Mouth that made others take notice that Santigold is back: a sheer bombastic explosion of tribal drums, hollering and a ridiculously rave-able chorus that takes no prisoners, especially when played at full blast. The influence of long-time friend and collaborator Diplo is clearly evident - if Pon De Floor was hijacked by an angry tribe of amazonian warlords this is what it would sound like. Genre busting and persona bending (the artwork above shows Santi Drag King-ing it up as well as in glamazonian twin mode), Master of my Make-Believe could be one of 2012's fiercest returns.
Critical Success - Can't see it being recieved badly considering the recpetion of the singles. Commercial Success - a step up from the debut's 26 peak but probably not a runaway success.
Ren Harvieu - Through The Night Release Date 23rd April
Now I doubt many people have heard of Miss Harvieu but she's already a critics' darling (being longlisted on this year's BBC Sound of... List is a sign there's some hype here) and I'm sure if the alternative crowd don't start singing her praises, there's always the Radio 2 listenership who will lap it up a la Rumer or Caro Emerald. On first appearances Ren may seem like one in a long line of neo-soul/blues singers that have sprung up the last six years and her voice is certainly 'smoky', 'intriguing' and all those other buzz words industry people use in these scenarios but the USP here is the subtle changes in genre Ren moulds into with ease. The three tracks floating around Youtube all suggest a varied concoction nicely threaded together by Ren's voice: buzz single Through The Night resembles a long lost Dusty Springfield track - the musical equivalent of a Springtime afternoon, Forever In Blue has a near bossa-nova feel with a clippity-clopping beat and tinkly saloon piano whilst Open Up Your Arms is as much of a torches-up-arms-waving-in-desperate-longing anthem as you're gonna get without straying into rock music or Adele's discography, no doubt upping her indie credentials (not to mention a saxophone breakdown which is always a plus). With another eight tracks completing the album's full set, there's many more facets of Ren to explore, discover and be enveloped in. So Welcome Ren Harvieu - Jools Holland's on the phone for you.
Critical Success - Will no doubt be very positive. Commercial Success - She can forget about hit singles but the album may end having long-running appeal with the Radio 2 market.
Marina and the Diamonds - Electra Heart Release Date 30th April
This is a strange one in all honesty. Marina Diamandis returned, all platinum blonde wig and stars & striped up, with the Calvin Harris-esque pop stormer Radioactive last year which was released at the same time as Florence + the Machine's Shake It Out - the former entered two places higher at 25 in that week. Florence has since released her second album (another number one naturally), been Brit award nominated and is on to single number 4 whereas Marina disappeared in a puff of faux-americana smoke. With Spring 2012's arrival we meet Marina 2.5: gone is the American Rebel 'Yeah, I'm in an open top car in the desert. So?' persona and out pops the decadent 50's housewife, curlers and pencilled beauty spot at the ready. Despite all this shafeshifting, Electra Heart is shaping up to be an intriguing listen. The first-which-is-actually-the-second single, the Dr. Luke produced Primadonna, is a Dr Luke-by-numbers event polished within an inch of its life only elevated by Diamandis's knack for writing goofy but slightly twisted lyrics that get lodged in the brain after a few listens (this is more than highlighted in the Acoustic Version). Homewrecker, already avaliable as a free download, bumps along like a femme-fatale version of Guilty from the last album with spoken word verses verging into utter psycho territory whereas the brooding Fear & Loathing could have been a Hurts song in another life. With a tracklist veering dangerously into the 60's sexploitation film title zone (Bubblegum Bitch, Sex Yeah, Valley of the Dolls - the last one also being the title of a film sexploitation director Russ Meyer famously revamped) it looks like isn't pulling any punches with this one. Whether the public will buy into it after such a lapse in time is yet to be seen but there's guaranteed to be an eccentric streak in the wig to seperate this from the Katy Perry's, Ke$ha's and Nicki Minaj's of the world.
Critical Success - Probably mild (it is the notoriously difficult second album after all). Commercial Success - Primadonna could do wonders for it if it takes off but more than likely a Top 10 placing.
Rita Ora ft. Tinie Tempah - R.I.P (Single) Release Date 7th May
After a whip-cracking feature on DJ Fresh's second number one hit Hot Right Now, Rita Ora is ready to rumble and with the seemingly untouchable Tinie Tempah by her side what could go wrong? You've probably heard this song plenty of times already and the huge amount of radio backing is a sure sign this is heading straight to the top end of the singles chart. The song itself isn't anything particularly groundbreaking, the fact it's a Rihanna cast-off written by Drake probably doesn't come as much suprise, but the female empowerment message, the Nneka - Heartbeat sample (which is frankly the best bit of the song) coupled with a distinctly British grime feel will no doubt win over the thronging masses of angsty teenage girls quite ready to stick it to their men. Rita is a star waiting to explode, there is no doubt about that, but as far as lead singles go R.I.P is hardly the strongest, personality stamping song out there. Still, there's plenty of time to get a few more singles under her belt and the musical connections she's already obtained (she's signed to Roc Nation for goodness sake) seem to suggest there's plenty of industy backing for her already.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1l9WST5lXM
Critical Success - It's already recieved mixed reviews (which is about right in my opinion). Commercial Success - Definately a contender for number one.Plan B - iLL Manors Release Date 21st May
Here's The Defamation of Strickland Banks part Deux right? Technically a film soundtrack but also an album in its own right... wrong. This does not sound like Strickland Banks and Plan B is making sure it will not sound like Strickland Banks. Not much is known about iLL Manors the film (of which Plan B a.k.a Ben Drew is directing and producing) but what you can predict is that this won't be the soul album many of his new-found fans were hoping for. Ill Manors, the song, came with a ruckus: essentially a protest song about the state of working class Britain which picked at the government and the class divide with a video depicting looting, assault and lots of stuff being destroyed on the streets of London. It's a statement, thats for sure, and the song itself is barely recognisable as a follow up to She Said or Prayin from his commercial breakthrough. It's hard to tell who Plan B is siding with (his public statements kind of contradicting the apparent message of the song and video) so it can feel a bit uncomfortable to listen to but that is surely his prerogative. Commercial success has been won so he can afford to play around with sounds - Ill Manors sampling Peter Fox's Alles Neu (which in turn nabs the strings from Dmitri Shostakovich's 7th Symphony) is clever production simply because it's at once classic, impactful and basically no one in the UK will recognise it's a sample until the critics and eagle-eared amongst us point it out. Expect more distinctly british hip-hop about distinctly British issues when the film and soundtrack come out in May.
Critical Success - I am sure this will be recieved well in terms of production and sheer bluntness. Commercial Success - It will sell on hype alone to some degree.
Paloma Faith - Fall To Grace Release Date 28th May
Only in recent weeks have details been emerging about the long-awaited album number two from slightly oddball starlet Paloma Faith. Firstly, the cover art above is pop photography at it's best: Parrots - check. Serious face - check. Tumbling scarlet gown - double flipping check. It's a vast and luxurious statement that Paloma is coming back bigger, brighter and bolder this time (I immediately thought of the cover art to Friendly Fires - Pala when I saw it, well the hollywood opera version of Pala anyways). This is more than backed-up by her choice of producers this time around. Taking the helm is Nellee Hooper, who produced some of Bjork's best work not mention bits and pieces for Massive Attack, Gwen Stefani and the soundtrack to Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet. I doubt it'll be Army of Me meets What You Waiting For? meets Unfinished Sympathy (I can only dream) but Hooper's rich history coupled with Faith's eccentric persona could make for a stunning team. Debut single Picking Up The Pieces is a sign of things to come: Venus as a Boy-esque strings and glockenspiel open up the stage as Faith sings about forlornly about the 'flawless' ex her boyfriend is still hooked up on. There are moments when the theatrics tumble the song into Steps levels of camp but all in all it's a nice development in sound from the last album. The right single selection will be Faith's ticket to true commercial success (Upside Down and Smoke & Mirrors were left far too late last time around) but fingers will be crossed for Fall To Grace to match, if not better, So You Want The Truth or Something Beautiful?'s album sales.