Album review: Little Boots - Hands (4.5/5)

Hands is the debut pop album I've been waiting for, and it doesn't disappoint. Little Boots has generated much buzz this year. When I first heard about her in January, what I saw and heard was promising, but frankly a bit suspect. Sure "Stuck on Repeat" was a killer song, but "Little Boots" is an odd name for a singer, and her onstage act, which consisted of her singing while manipulating a Japanese music gizmo, was a bit suspect.

In a move sure to divide her early fans, Hands is a confident step toward mainstream acceptance. While Little Boots wrote or co-wrote every song here, she enlisted some pretty A-list pop producers, namely Greg Kurstin and Richard Stannard, both of whom have worked with Kylie (as well as Lily Allen and Will Young respectively). Songs that first appeared as long dance cues have been edited to radio-friendly lengths, such as "Stuck on Repeat," which frankly, I always preferred in its tight 4-minute form. "Meddle," the other early-release track in here too, along with a tight set of appealing electro-pop that shoots to boost Little Boots as a Kylie-styled sophisticate rather than a Lady GaGa-esque tramp.

The album opens strong with stomping first single "New in Town," followed by melodic "Earthquake." Then there's my favorite, the mesmerizing "Stuck on Repeat," awash in heady synth chords and a sharp dance beat. Slick "Click" opens with a throbbing bass line before transitioning to a very Kylie-like sexy synth number. "Remedy" is the closest she comes to sounding like Lady GaGa--energetic, electro dance pop with a distorted synth melody and meaningless lyrics about the dance floor. No surprise it's produced by RedOne, who helmed all of GaGa's recent hits.

For all the pop sheen, Little Boots hasn't completely shed her eccentric side. Quirky "Meddle" courses along with clangy beats and synth bleeps. I wasn't so keen on this track months ago, but it's grown on me. "Ghosts" is even stranger, and probably the only track that hasn't won me over yet. "Mathematics," one of the more '80s-styled tracks, cleverly runs through a series of arithmetic metaphors for relationships. It achieves more witty one-liners than it does a coherent idea ("your X is equal to my Y, but equations pass me by"), but is fun nonetheless.

"Symmetry," the highlight of the album's weaker second half, is an '80s-styped synth pop song featuring the guy from the Human League. "Tune into My Heart," however, is one of the album's weakest tracks--it definitely sounds like Kylie filler. "Hearts Collide" is a little better for its darker sound, but still doesn't live up to the quality of the earlier tracks. "No Brakes" is better, with a good electronic bassline and an overall mood of uplift to finish the album.

In short, Hands is the best pop debut so far this year, if not the best pop album. While not perfect, it's a very good start--upbeat, melodic, '80s-inspired but still modern, mainstream but not cookie-cutter--there's little not to like.

Best: Stuck on Repeat, New in Town, Remedy, Symmetry, Click, Earthquake, Meddle

Preview Little Boots' Hands

Little Boots' MySpace page now has all of Hands up in full for you to preview. I'm listening to "Click" right now, which is really cool. Very '80s, great melody. Interesting that she went for the single edit of "Stuck on Repeat" for the album rather than the longer original version. I think that's in keeping with this being a dance pop album, rather than a dance music album.

June 2 update: MySpace seems to be malfunctioning, as I would really like to be listening to this tonight, but tracks only seem to load sporadically. I heard "Ghosts," "No Brakes," and the first few seconds of "Meddle." Not happy right now.

Update 2: Okay now it's working again. Whew.

June New Releases

May turned out to be a pretty good month for new music, particularly with Green Day and Passion Pit. I still haven't found a 5-star album yet this year. Will any of these be the first?

Key Releases

Little Boots - Hands (June 8)
Expectations are high for the debut album from Little Boots, the British singer otherwise known as Victoria Hesketh who won the BBC Sounds of 2009 poll, making her one of the hottest new acts of the year. I've been buzzing about her for months now, ever since I discovered her early release tracks "Stuck on Repeat" and "Meddle." "New in Town" is the first official single from the upcoming album, which also includes those older tracks. Despite being a largely unknown quantity, Boots snagged Greg Kurstin for production duties, who's worked with many notable female artist of late, including producing Lily Allen's best-selling sophomore album.

La Roux - La Roux (June 29)
Speaking of hot new artists for 2009, here's another, English electro act La Roux. The group scored a massive hit with its recent single "In for the Kill," which hit #2 on the UK singles chart and stayed there for 4 weeks. This, the band's debut, also features advance single "Quicksand" and upcoming release "Bulletproof."

Wilco - Wilco (June 29/30)
I loved Wilco's last album, Sky Blue Sky. This, their seventh album, includes a duet with Canadian singer Feist, "You and I." While the title of this album is eponymous, it's also named after the first track, "Wilco (The Song)." I haven't heard anything from it yet.

Daniel Merriweather - Love & War (June 1)
Australian singer Daniel Merriweather, who first got our attention in 2007 when he appeared as featured singer on Mark Ronson's "Stop Me," releases his album Love & War. It includes the top 10 hit "Change" (feat. Wale), current single "Red," and a duet with one of last year's big breakouts, British singer Adele.

Black Eyed Peas - The E.N.D. (June 8/9)
"The E.N.D." stands for "The Energy Never Dies," so I guess this isn't a breakup album in the wake of Fergie and Will.I.Am's success away from the group. Far from it, as the band is hotter than ever, having scored an international smash with this album's first single "Boom Boom Pow." EW reported that "I Gotta Feeling" is even bolder.


Other releases

Paolo Nutini - Sunny Side Up. Scottish singer/songwriter releases his second album (June 1)

Patrick Wolf - The Bachelor. (June 1)

Dave Matthews Band - Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King. Dave Matthews Band releases their seventh album, first in four years. (June 1/2)

Eels - Hombre Lobo: 12 Songs of Desire. The Eels put out their seventh album, a concept work about desire. (June 1/2)

Kasabian - West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum (June 8)

Just Jack - All Night Cinema. Third album from Just Jack, which features recent single "Embers." (June 8)

The Jonas Brothers - Lines, Vines and Trying Times. The Disney boys release their fourth album; first single "Paranoid" is climbing the charts fast. (June 15/16)

The Mars Volta - Octahedron. (June 23)

Third Eye Blind - Ursa Major. There was a time Third Eye Blind was massive, but not so much anymore. This is the band's fourth album. (June 23)

Moby - Wait for Me. Moby's ninth album, following last year's Last Night. (June 29)

Rob Thomas - Cradlesong. The Matchbox Twenty frontman releases his second solo album, featuring current single "Her Diamonds." (June 30)