The rich western world outside of America has always had an affinity for the synth sounds of the eighties, when the previous decade’s disco merged with that decade’s New Wave. That sound might have been overwhelmed in the States in the nineties by first metal & grunge, then hip-hop, but has kept going in all those places where they have good universal health care. But this new millennium has seen pretty much all the pop sounds of the last fifty years come back, from garage-rock to neo-Beatles to sweet alt-country/folk to yes, eighties synth-dance, now finally coming to America in multi-continental hit Ladyhawke (a.k.a. Pip Brown), as her self-titled debut finally gets released in the ol’ U.S.-of-A. as an expanded special edition.
Ladyhawke is best when it goes for the grand & emotional, as that adds weight & power to tracks like opener “Magic”, or “My Delirium” & “Another Runaway”, which feel like classic eighties New Wave dance tracks that you love whenever you hear ‘em on the radio (back when you listened to the radio…). When Brown relies more exclusively on her synth-tech beats, the results can be a little repetitive, such as “Manipulating Woman”, “Better Than Sunday”, or “Professional Suicide” – but even there, she gets better, marrying it to an excellent growing & big chorus on “Sunday” and single “Paris Is Burning”.
At twelve original tracks, plus two bonus pieces and three acoustic versions, Ladyhawke (Special Edition) is also able to roam a bit, like the more atmospheric “Love Don’t Live Here” or brightening “Crazy World”, whose emotional push goes outwards & upwards. But there are also some forgettable numbers, like the should-have-done-more-with-the-hooks “Dusk Till Dawn” and kind of blah (regular) closer “Morning Dreams” (Ladyhawke, the original, would have been better served with the penultimate “Crazy” as its last track). But bonus number “Danny and Jenny” (b-side to “Paris” single) has a nice press & catch & attitude, and the stripped versions of “Paris”, “Dusk”, and “Delirium” are all interesting, fresh takes on the songs – “Paris” cuter & more orchestral, “Dusk” lifted from dashed expectations, and “Delirium” just down to the emotion, which is one of its strengths.
Brown originally hails from New Zealand, before moving to Melbourne (yet “Magic” references flights over the Atlantic, not the Pacific…), which maybe helps her avoid the over-cheese of much of the Euro disco-synth-dance. And now she’s breaking in the States, thanks to, of all people, Perez Hilton – first his SXSW party earlier this year (QRO SXSW 2009 recap), and now headlining the ‘Perez Hilton Presents’ tour with another up-and-coming non-American lady, Ida Maria (QRO photos) – bringing back that sound that America never should have let go.
MP3 Stream: "Another Runaway"
