There has been an enormous amount of new single releases in pop recently so it’s time to catch up with some reviews on the newest British tracks!
Paloma Faith – Ready For The Good Life
In the past year Paloma Faith further cemented her status as one of Britain’s biggest pop stars of the moment. Her album A Perfect Contradiction did very well and her gorgeous single ‘Only Love Can Hurt Like This’ became a wordwide hit, even reaching number one in Australia. ‘Changing’, her collaboration with Sigma, was her first number one in the UK. This song will be featured on the re-release of her latest album, ‘A Perfect Contradiction: Outsider’s Edition’. The first single of this new collection is ‘Ready For The Good Life’, a catchy retro tune that is enjoyable, but far from Paloma’s best work. The chorus is catchy and the diva attitude is fun, but the ‘ah-ah-ah”s of the intro that are repeated all over the track are quite annoying. Still, not bad at all and it is great to see Paloma doing so well as I have loved her music from the first time I heard her debut album.
AlunaGeorge – Supernatural
Most people know AlunaGeorge because of ‘White Noise’, their collaboration with Disclosure, but their debut album Body Music was full of great tracks, with the outstanding single ‘Your Drums, Your Love’ as an absolute highlight. Now the duo is back with ‘Supernatural’, the first track from their new project. The song immediately makes clear why AlunaGeorge is not just Aluna. George came up with great beats and a brilliant production, that melts perfectly with the sweet and high voice of Aluna. Most songs on their debut record were influenced by R&B, but it seems they let this style go on the new material, which is leaning way more on electro. The track has an undeniably brilliant hook, starting when Aluna sings she goes ‘interplanetary’. I like this new direction, bring me more!
Olly Murs – Wrapped Up (feat. Travie McCoy)
It is already five years ago that Olly Murs auditioned for the British version of X Factor. The charming singer has been growing as a pop star ever since and is definitely one of Britain’s most popular male singers at the moment. He gained international recognition as well with great singles like ‘Troublemaker’ and ‘Heart Skips A Beat’. I am quite sure his new single ‘Wrapped Up’, featuring rapper Travie McCoy, will be another huge success for him. The song mixes modern pop elemements with a slight retro feel, something that has been proven successful for Olly before. The song does not really feel like something we haven’t heard before or an exciting new step in his career, but why change a winning formula? He is planning to release his new record ‘Never Been Better’ in November. I am curious to hear more of it, but I would be very surprised if he does not sell loads of copies again.
Tulisa – Living Without You
Tulisa went through a pretty difficult time in her life and career over the past year. She became the victim of public scrutiny after it seemed she was involved in a drugs deal, after being framed by a journalist from The Sun. It seemed like she had to spend some time in prison, but a few months ago, the judge decided there was not enough evidence, because of lies of a witness on the side of the prosecution. Tulisa walked free and after a few interviews and a documentary, it seems public opinion on her has turned in her favor again and there is goodwill towards her. Last week, she premiered ‘Living Without You’, the first single of her second album. The intro sounds a bit grating, but once you get passed that, it is actually a really nice dance pop track. The song breathes a 90’s vibe, similar to Kiesza’s worldwide hit ‘Hideaway’. Although the song does not really sound original or personal, it is not bad at all and might be her second big solo hit in the UK after the success of ‘Young’ in 2012. It would be great for her to top the charts once again. I admire her strength to come back and genuinely hope she does well.