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Avg: 4.0 (747 ratings)
- Date Released: September 22, 2008
- Genre: Electronic
- Label: Modular
Nervy New Zealander offers a dozen-plus rewrites of "Bette Davis Eyes." And, yes, that's a good thing
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We Say...
Some artists are content to merely evoke the '80s, but Pip Brown opts instead to mimic it outright. The opening of her debut as Ladyhawke — name taken from, you guessed it, an '80s movie — sounds like "Heart of Glass," ('78, but you get the point) and the remainder plays like a freewheeling shuffle through the back catalogs of Cyndi Lauper and Belinda Carlisle.
If you read this as a bad thing, you're being too harsh. Brown's not just a good stylist but a gifted songwriter — it's just that any one of those songs could have been written twenty or so years go. "My Delirium" is all pulse and snap, toothy Gang of Four guitar sinking deep into sugary synths. "Another Runaway" has the best pre-chorus since "The Lady in Red," a string of cascading "oh, oh, oh"s gliding into a supremely pouty refrain. Keyboards provide the backbone of these songs — bright, glimmering synths that blink and blurt and provide the perfect backdrop for Brown's husky voice. And even if at times it seems like Brown's main aim is to spin off a dozen or so rewrites of "Bette Davis Eyes," she does it with such vigor and determination that it's hard to fault her.
At times it's tempting to play spot-the-reference. The silvery synths streaking up the back of "Professional Suicide" are so similar to Gary Numan they could coax greedy grins from the lawyers at Beggar's. But just when the whole enterprise threatens to topple across the line from homage into Xerox, Brown leans into the microphone and sings, "I see you had a hit in '89/ Too bad we all don't age as good as wine." Her intent, then, is obvious: she has come not to honor her forefathers, but to replace them. -
They Say...
Unlike her indie-disco counterparts CSS, the Gossip and Ting Tings, New Zealand one-woman show Ladyhawke has yet to break through to the mainstream, despite possessing a much more polished sound that seems tailor-made for the upper reaches of the charts. Her self-titled debut album, co-written with the likes of Pascal Gabriel (Dido) and Hannah Robinson (Girls Aloud) suggests that commercial success will surely only be a matter of time. Not afraid to plunder both her cool and distinctly uncool record collection, Ladyhawke, aka Pip Brown, has crafted 13 instantly accessible songs, each of which sounds like a potential hit single. Heavily influenced by synth pop, new wave, and AOR in equal measures, Ladyhawke, sounds like a who's who of '80s pop. "Back of the Van" is the Pretenders meets Van Halen's "Jump"; "Professional Suicide" sounds like a lost classic Gary Numan single; while the storming chorus of "My Delirium" echoes the power pop of the Bangles and the Go Go's. Best of all is "Crazy World," whose chugging basslines and dreamy synths would perfectly fit the closing scenes of a Brat Pack movie. But despite its blatant retro vibe, it still manages to sound fresh thanks to its clever production and Brown's fiery and vibrant vocals. She may be a rather awkward live performer, but on record she's full of charisma and personality, and never more so than on the thumping "From Dusk Til Dawn" and the highly infectious "Paris Is Burning," arguably two of the finest pop singles to miss the Top 40 in recent times. Ladyhawke is unlikely to win any awards for originality but you'd be hard pressed to find a more consistent and hook-laden debut all year.
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| 01. |  |
Magic |
3:29 |
|
| 02. | |
Manipulating Woman |
3:37 |
|
| 03. | |
My Delirium |
4:17 |
|
| 04. | |
Better Than Sunday |
3:30 |
|
| 05. | |
Another Runaway |
3:18 |
|
| 06. | |
Love Don’t Live Here |
4:04 |
|
| 07. | |
Back of The Van |
3:44 |
|
| 08. | |
Paris Is Burning |
3:53 |
|
| 09. | |
Professional Suicide |
3:45 |
|
| 10. | |
Dusk Til' Dawn |
2:38 |
|
| 11. | |
Crazy World |
3:37 |
|
| 12. | |
Morning Dreams |
4:00 |
|
12 Total Tracks, 43:52 Total Length
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Credits
- Alex Gray - Guitar // Alex Gray - Percussion // Alex Gray - Keyboards // Alex Gray - Fender Rhodes // Greg Kurstin - Keyboards // Greg Kurstin - Programming // Greg Kurstin - Producer // Greg Kurstin - Engineer // Leo Bubba Taylor - Drums // Pascal Gabriel - Guitar // Pascal Gabriel - Percussion // Pascal Gabriel - Piano // Pascal Gabriel - Drums // Pascal Gabriel - Keyboards // Pascal Gabriel - Producer // Pascal Gabriel - Engineer // Pascal Gabriel - Mixing // Pascal Gabriel - Synthesizer Bass // Tom Elmhirst - Mixing // Tony Hoffer - Mixing // Anu Pillai - Drums // Anu Pillai - Guitar (Bass) // Anu Pillai - Keyboards // Anu Pillai - Programming // Zak Biddu - A&R // Zak Biddu - Management // Michael Di Francesco - Synthesizer // Michael Di Francesco - Guitar (Bass) // Michael Di Francesco - Producer // Michael Di Francesco - Engineer // Jason Gossman - Mixing Assistant // Hannah Robinson - Vocals (Background) // Dan Parry - Assistant // Dan Parry - Assistant Art Design // Peter Huntington - Drums // Pip Brown - Synthesizer // Pip Brown - Guitar // Pip Brown - Drums // Pip Brown - Guitar (Bass) // Pip Brown - Guitar (Electric) // Pip Brown - Keyboards // Pip Brown - Vocals // Pip Brown - Vocals (Background) // Pip Brown - Executive Producer // Pip Brown - Art Direction // Jim Eliot - Drums // Jim Eliot - Keyboards // Jim Eliot - Producer // Jim Eliot - Engineer // Antonio Feola - Engineer // Paul Harris - Drums // Paul Harris - Keyboards // Paul Harris - Producer // Paul Harris - Engineer // Sarah Larnach - Artwork // Sarah Larnach - Art Direction // Gavin Maude - Representation
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