Reviews_ Albums
Little Boots – Hands
Sixsevenine

She may be the most talked-about new artist of 2009, but Victoria Hesketh is an old hand at this whole music malarkey. The Blackpool lass’s background encompasses jazz, indie-pop and even teenage Pop Idol indiscretions, but her debut album is as lacquered with synths and as buffed with slick electro riffs as is humanly possible – perhaps due, in part, to the spit ‘n’ polish talents of Joe Goddard (Hot Chip) and Greg Kurstin (The Bird and the Bee).

One of the main explanations for Hesketh’s abrupt popularity has been her capacity to adapt songs to suit several genres. There are as many tracks here that beg to be unleashed on club dancefloors (the breathy, Kylie-esque ‘Remedy’) as there are tunes likely to top the mainstream charts (new single ‘New in Town’ is undoubtedly the standout). Elsewhere, The Human League’s Phil Oakey bolsters Hesketh’s oft-fragile vocals nicely on ‘Symmetry’, while ‘Tune Into My Heart’ temporarily unwinds the taut pace and throws a fistful of glitter from the speakers. If there’s one hitch with Hands, though, it’s that the constant barrage of synth and Tenori-on has an almost dulling effect in the mid-section, rather than a sharp-heeled stiletto in your ear. Still, it’s a creative and firmly likeable debut. Lauren Murphy

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DOWNLOAD: ‘NEW IN TOWN’, ‘GHOSTS’, ‘SYMMETRY’.
FOR FANS OF: KYLIE MINOGUE, LADYHAWKE, THE HUMAN LEAGUE.

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