Rock the Flex (single and album sampler)

Chubby Kids  www.myspace.com/andreafaithful

It’s not long since every label wanted their own edition of Lily Allen, giving us an entire season of mediocre acting school Mockney ’songstresses’ groaning on about ‘your mates ah fi’ah’ and pavements. This being – as we predicted some time ago – the summer of Lady Gaga (who can at least sing well) it’ll be no surprise that blonde electropop girls will be de rigeur. Some will be clones, some will have their own style. Some will have little boots and less talent.

Miss Faithful looks a little like a Giorgio Moroder-era dance track diva but on these tracks is not a Donna Summer. Her vocal delivery is playful and stylised, you’ll love or hate her voice. The backing track on ‘Rock the Flex’ has fuzzy guitar slabs and synth bleeps with an insistent chorus for female hairbrush-mike participation. Album taster ‘ Booby Trap’ is it must be said closer to Ms Gaga but a finger-wagging delivery and a neat guitar hook (under-used) against a light stomp and a hint of orchestration. The song ‘Clone’ is more this reviewer’s thing, Kraftwerk made danceable and moody chords but still fit for Saturday night preparation singalong. ‘Don’t You Wanna Dance’ reminds me of the sort of Euro Disco songs they might play at the end of tv show ‘EuroTrash’. Ms Faithful’s voice sounds much better on this, less girlie and more natural. A grower, I think.

The ‘Tomfoolery’ album is described as ‘a feral slice of electro-pop, aimed at club audiences’. On that basis, I’m lucky to hear it as I avoid clubs like pavement tinshakers ! But of course crossover radio play will be the aim and rightly so. Producer Magna Kartah, fresh from working with hiphop legend Afrika Bambaata is well-attuned to global dance music and moreover the hooks this stuff needs to break through. There is a Bowie-inspired video, to boot. Not that surprising given the lady’s background as a magazine stylist and former dancer. If she doesn’t know what the dance fashion scenesters want, who does ?

Pete Sargeant    www.fairhearing.co.uk