Amelia Lily - You Bring Me Joy

Ever since she sang her (vastly superior) rendition of E.T. during the judges' houses level of last year's X Factor, Amelia Lily Oliver was my favourite to win. Quirkily stylish, effortlessly cool and consistently grateful for the opportunity she was getting, it seemed like a complete no brainer to me that Amelia Lily would breeze through to the live shows and beat off other less interesting competitors week by week, until she was eventually crowned winner and beloved by all.  But, much like she did with her own solo career, Kelly Rowland managed to royally fuck things up by sending Amelia Lily home in the first week (not before she cut and dyed her hair pink though.  Smooth move K-Row).  


Weeks went by and I was still mourning the loss of Strawberry Shortcake , until the musical gods sent me two blessings at once - Frankie Cocozza was gone and in his place, Amelia Lily would return to the competition.  Yes, she may have finished third but it was more than enough to grant her a record deal and a much more memorable finishing position than last.

Now here we are, and Amelia is the last of last year's alumni to release her debut single (well, she's the last one I care about anyway).  'You Bring Me Joy' was one of my most anticipated single releases of the year and when I first heard it today I was... so disappointed. "Where's the energy? Where's her personality? WHERE'S THE MIDDLE 8?!" I asked myself as I opted to watch this again and cry into my keyboard.  And yet, I kept going back to the song.  I assumed it was because I wanted to force myself to love it, to love her debut single as much as I loved her on the show.  As it turns out, I was going back to it for a much more simple reason - the song is pretty fucking ace.  


That chorus is one of Xenomania's catchiest of late and the restrained vocals aren't a sign that the song is boring (as I initially thought), rather they are a way of showing that she's perfectly capable of making an impressive song without hitting every note possible.  This song really does get better with every listen (it should also be listened to at a very loud volume. I've never really understood a song sounding better the louder it is until now) and is a far more intriguing direction for Amelia to go in than the Kelly Clarkson/P!nk sound, which was something I feared might happen.  

This album is going to be so perfect, I can feel it in my bones. I really, really hope she gets chart success, not just because I like her so much (which I do) but I also think it'd be pretty hilarious if the girl who they kicked off far too soon ended up being this series' main success story.

Now if she could do a nice acoustic cover version of E.T. as a bonus track for her debut album, I can die happy.

5/5

Florrie 'Late' EP

"When I've finished with you there won't be any place left to hide... and I'll see to that"

After years of releasing her music independently, Florrie has announced that she's finally signing to a major label.  But she's not going to do that without sending the fans who've supported her as an independent artist one last gift, the four track 'Late' EP.  I don't really see the point in leaving my consensus until the end of this review so I'm going to just dive right in (a method of 'slutty critiquing' if you will) - 'Late' is brilliant.  


The EP opens with Shot You Down.  With it's video-game bleeps, insanely catchy guitar refrains and the fact that it is compiled of four or five lyrics that are repeated at seemingly random points, it's almost impossible for me not to make a connection between Florrie's music and that of Girls Aloud (which is the highest compliment I could give an artist, except for maybe comparing them to a hybrid of Britney and Madonna).  This comparison isn't surprising considering Florrie's involvement with GA production house Xenomania, and much like a lot of their best work, Shot You Down avoids the typical 'verse-chorus-verse' song structure in favour of a 'hook-hook-hook' blueprint.  Shot You Down is a thrilling way to open this EP and I dare any listener not to have 'I pull the trigger on our love' caught in their head after listening.


My personal favourite I'm Gonna Get You Back is next.  The production on this song is instantly more urgent than on Shot You Down, eventually descending into a cacophony of spliced vocals, echoes and fizzy synths in the songs pleasantly surprising final minute.  This song is breathless, fast paced and has more bears more than a striking resemblance to Marina & The Diamond's 'Electra Heart' opener Bubblegum Bitch.  Think of I'm Gonna Get You Back as the classier older sister to Marina's Bubblegum Bitch, albeit a classy girl prone to mental breakdowns.  It's also fitting that this is a song about the time after a relationship ends, as it could be seen as an aural account of a couple's time together, starting out relatively neat and organised and eventually collapsing into a bit of a (very pretty) mess.  When a relationship sounds like this, it's no wonder Florrie wants him back.


According to Florrie Every Inch was written "a dark January night" and it's easy to see that the cold and dark weather imbued itself onto this song.  There's a frosty exterior to this song, the girl singing it is not sympathetic and caring, her various put downs ("You got money in your pocket, your clothes are looking hot but I ain't looking for somebody like you") are icy and succinct, much like the song itself.  There's also a background vocal (at least I think it's a vocal) that sounds just like a ghost, and it was one of the more innovative aspects of the EP that really stuck out to me.  The stabbing synths of this song make it sound like a lost remix of an 80's track, and it is one of the most impressive songs Florrie has ever released.


The closer to the EP, To The End, is a well-timed breather of sorts.  Not quite as hectic as the three songs which came before, this song reminds me of Sophie Ellis-Bextor when she is at her best.  However this comparison doesn't extend to their vocals, as Florrie's voice has a lot more vulnerability in comparison to the ever detached Sophie, and To The End is one example where Florrie has the upper hand.  While I prefer Florrie when she's making songs with a slightly more deranged production than To The End, it is a perfect way to close a collection of songs as strong as 'Late', and serves its purpose well as a segue between independent Florrie and her label-backed material to come.


Pop music this refreshing doesn't come around very often, and with the current popularity of LOLpop like LMFAO and Will.I.Am, it should be a necessity for any self-respecting music fan to download 'Late' and remind themselves just how amazing pop music can be.  Florrie obviously has an ear for creating music which successfully rides the line between avant-garde and commercially catchy tunes, and I'm so glad she took her time as an independent artist to find and perfect her own sound because if 'Late' is anything to go by, her debut album is going to be something very special indeed.  

4.5/5