Wild Young Hearts by Noisettes
Vertigo Records • available as import only - US release?



Shingai Shoniwa is exactly the shot in the arm that the quasi-electric, playfully fun UK scene really needed. The frontwoman of the Noisettes, she combines an incredibly rich and varied voice with the fun and complex beats that define her sound. The lyrics vary from track to track between not unusual club shallow repetition to genuine storytelling exemplified in the title track ‘Wild Young Hearts’.

If anything, the Noisettes try for too much on one release. The sophomore release provides a little taste of every influence they are trying to incorporate—jazz, blues, electropop, disco revival, harder edged rock, soulful ballads and funky patterns all fight for the forefront in the overall composition. Variety is wonderful—in the right amounts. There may be too much going on here to sell anyone who is not already a fan as no two tracks quite resemble each other.  With such an eclectic mix, songs often do not combine cohesively.

There is a lot of beauty—they are built on a wonderful foundation—but they still need to define themselves at least a little further. If each track jars the listener from mood to mood, it’s difficult at best to lean back and listen to the work as a whole. However, with four singles from this release already, perhaps it wasn't the overall LP's sound that was the concern. More is the pity for that.

REVIEWED BY RAIN PLETCHER
[email: rain@groovemine.com]