boxing clever

Chicane are certainly back on form. After the golden days of 1999 with massive hits like "Saltwater" and "Don't Give Up", it seems Nick Bracegirdle is on track with forthcoming single, "Hiding All The Stars", the follow up to the #7 UK single, "Poppiholla".



Natasha Andrews' beautifully haunting vocal floats over the top of the more mellow passages and then kicks into an unexpected, slightly more aggressive section featuring a replayed version of the signature, synth line from Gary Numan's "Cars". The interplay between the two disparate sections is quite astonishing.

The video and single sleeve for "Hiding All The Stars" has cause quite a bit of controversy. People thought that a woman with a black eye must be the subject of abuse. The video has ignited heated discussions in which some people are incensed by the sexist idea of the last bastion of maleness in the sport world being infiltrated.

As with the video for Chicane's previous single, "Poppiholla", first glances and assumptions should not be relied upon until the full story has unfolded. It's nice to see a bit of thought and meaning being put into music videos for a change. I, for one, am tired of the endless parade of vacuous clips.

Side note, fact fans! Did you know a chicane is an artificial feature which creates extra turns in a roadway? Apparently, they are used in motor racing and on city streets to slow cars down.

I wonder if there is a new Chicane album in the works or if they are going to strip "Hiding All The Stars" on the current, greatest hits collection. If they add the song to the existing tracklisting, it would be the third edition of "The Best Of Chicane: 1996-2009" to be released this year.