Little Boots, Gorillaz, Kelly Rowland

Little Boots
 
Somehow it makes perfect sense to us that in a year where the virtual world of Avatar reigned supreme at the movies, virtual band Gorillaz would return on the scene with their most cinematic sounding album yet. The brainchild of Damon Albarn (of Britpop band Blur) and Tank Girl comic-book illustrator Jamie Hewlett, Gorillaz’s third album Plastic Beach shows an evolution since their previous effort five years ago, the double platinum Demon Days. On the one hand Albarn helms the songwriting, production, singing and playing like before, but he also manages to cull an eclectic group of cameos including Snoop Dogg, De La Soul, Mos Def and Lou Reed. Then there’s the sound, which ditches much of the pop of its predecessors, instead giving a film-like feel brimming with world music and electronic textures—and like a movie, it also tells a bit of a story, taking listeners on a submerged trip to the Plastic Beach world. (It’s hard to pull out specific singles as each song almost needs to be heard in its own utterly brilliant, cohesive musical context). The video for “Stylo” shows promise that the new crop of videos will be just as star studded and cinematic as the music—this one includes a car-chase scene in the desert featuring Bruce Willis and loads of special effects including Harry Potter Dementor-like creatures. Look for the band to headline the final night of the infamous Coachella music festival in California on April 18th.
 
After big success in the U.K. last year, British pop-synth act Little Boots (a.k.a. Victoria Hesketh) shows her boots are made for walking by marching into North America with the release of her first full-length album, Hands. With production and songwriting assistance from Greg Kurstin (Lily Allen) and Joe Goddard (Hot Chip), there are plenty of tracks worth getting your hands on like “New in Town” and “Earthquake.”
 
Leaks of the week…Coming to an elevator near you is Kelly Rowland’s new “How Deep Is Your Love” Bee Gee’s cover featuring Michael Bublé. We’re hoping this leaked track—also featuring some seriously dated production—doesn’t make it onto Rowland’s new album.  While we love artists experimenting with new sounds, super-bland adult contemporary (read: whiter than bleach on frozen white bread) isn’t on our wish list for Rowland. The vocals are pretty, but going from last summer’s best dance song (the smash hit “When Love Takes Over” with David Guetta) to this is like the equivalent of going from a runway model in Milan to a milkmaid in Des Moines.
 
On a brighter side is the return of TLC singer T-Boz. Her freshly leaked “Are You the One” has some serious shades of TLC while still delivering a modern urban sound. A welcome return!    N