tougher than the rest

Today not only marks my return from the darkness, it also brings back the Revolution era snare. Prince, circa "1999", can be felt throughout "Tough Love", the new single from UK soulstress Jessie Ware.

Yes, things have been quite manic at So Hip It Hurts HQ. So sorry for the lengthy absence. Life is what happens when you're waiting around to do other stuff, my lovelies. I think I just somewhat quoted John Lennon in there. Do not attach originality to my statement. The gods of Wikipedia do not smile upon anyone.

Anyway, check out the first single from Jessie Ware's forthcoming, sophomore longplay. It's slow-burning smolder is swathed in Bryan Ferry's smoke and gauzy sonic textures. And the Princely drum on the one (actually, it's on the two) stands out as a clear, purple paisley influence.



Sweet delicious honey-flavored love lumps! Doesn't that just make your heart melt? Gorge!

everything but the girl

Ben Watt, the male half of Everything But The Girl, just released the laid back title track from his forthcoming solo album.

Described as a "folk rock album in an electronic world", "Hendra" is Mr. Watt's first longplayer without his companion and co-star, Tracey Thorn, since his debut, "North Marine Drive", which was released thirty-one years ago. Ben's latest features the extraordinary axe-wielding talents of Bernard Butler.



"Hendra", released on Unmade Road, Ben's new label, will hit the "shops" on April 14. It will be available on CD in standard and deluxe editions. Also, a heavyweight vinyl version will be available for those of you with a licorice platter fetish.

Jesus loves you

Boy George continues to release some of the best material of his career during a resurgence which includes him looking more fierce and fabulous than ever. I am thrilled to see him look fit and sounding fine.

"My God" is the follow up to "The King Of Everything", the lead single from his brand new, solo longplayer "This Is What I Do".



My goodness, George looks incredible. Love the spiked hair. The showman has returned in full regalia!

brotherly love

Seemingly out of nowhere, Morten Harket, the man with most amazing cheekbones in pop, has returned with "Brother", a brand new single. No word on whether or not the release of a new single precedes a new solo longplayer from the a-ha frontman. His last album, "Out Of My Hands", was only came out less than two years ago.



Mr. Harket sounds like he's in "East Of The Sun West Of The Moon" mode on this love. Lovely stuff.

kissing to be clever

Everyone's favorite, Aussie pop rocket has refueled her power packs and is revving her engines for the release of "Kiss Me Once", her twelfth, studio longplayer.

After "Into The Blue" hit the internet machine a few days ago, the world has been weighing in on it's status. Is it classic Kylie? It is, without a doubt, pop Kylie. But, from looking at some of the pervy titles, sex Kylie makes a bit of a return. And then there is the dreadful news that she has leaned a little into the hip hop side of production which seems to the road artists take when they want more US success. You heard it here first. Kylie WILL NOT have a hit in the US. Radio would much rather play Ke$ha and Pitbull.

Look, I love Kylie with the heat of a thousand suns, but her fanbase doesn't want hip hop Kylie. However, since I haven't heard the entire album, I must reserve judgment on the contents. What I do know is, I don't need a duet with Enrique Iglesias. It's another sign that leaves me fraught with worry over the sound of "Kiss Me Once". Even more disconcerting, are the aforementioned pervy song titles. Three songs feature "sex" in them - "Sexy Love", "Sexercize" (*groan*), and "Les Sex" (*grumble*). These cheesy sounding titles better reveal songs so amazing that you forget what they are called.

Of course, the longplayer will arrive in two distinct flavors - standard and deluxe. The deluxified edition will include two bonus tracks, "Mr. President" and "Sleeping With The Enemy", the latter produced by Greg Kurstin. Both songs are lovingly marked with an asterisk in the tracklisting below.

Then, we are treated to a completely useless super deluxe edition which features the album on vinyl and CD in a red, silk covered box which is emblazoned with Kylie's kiss print on the front. The box will also include the download code for the album, some lovely 12" x 12" color prints and a plastic frame covered in simulated raindrops so you and friends can take selfies of each other reproducing the cover image of "Kiss Me Once". Yes, Kylie thinks her fans a fourteen year old girls.

Here is the official tracklist of "Kiss Me Once". The album will hit the "shops" on March 18.

1. Into The Blue
2. Million Miles
3. I Was Gonna Cancel
4. Sexy Love
5. Sexercize
6. Feels So Good
7. If Only
8. Les Sex
9. Kiss Me Once
10. Beautiful
11. Fine
12. Mr. President*
13. Sleeping With The Enemy*

Please let this be a good album. "Aphrodite" was always going to be difficult to follow.

we all feel better in the dark

New music klaxon! My latest obsession is "Better In The Dark" by Swedish/Australian twin sister duo, Say Lou Lou. It's a dreamy, brooding and somewhat anthemic track which ticks all the right boxes for me. The chorus melody is a killer!

The track has been floating around since November, but it just dropped on my desk this week.



Ooh! That's full of texture! Elegant and moody. Luminous hair, mirrors, knives, feathers and slow motion twirling. Gorgeous! Very "Twin Peaks" meets "Dynasty".

When you purchase the single, you also get "Beloved", a lovely, languid ballad. Quite easily a single in its own right.



The sisters, Elektra and Miranda Kilbey, are scheduled to unleash their debut longplayer in June. With these two tunes, it's shaping up to be a platter of sonic goodness.

the center of the heart is the suburb to the brain

Nina Persson, best known as the lead singer with swoontastic pop combo The Cardigans, is about to release her very first solo longplayer. "Animal Heart" follows a five year break after she released "Colonia" as one half of A Camp. It has been nine years since The Cardigans released their last album, "Super Extra Gravity".

The title track is the first single to be released from the album. It's a glittering, throbbing number with lovely synth flavored ear candy. The vid for the track was shot last year in her current home of New York City.



It's lovely to see Nina return from the wilderness! I wonder how many times they had to shoot that clip?

Fun fact! The Cardigans are from Jönköping, a city in southern Sweden, which is also the birthplace of Agnetha Fältskog, the lovely, golden throated singer from ABBA.

As a bonus, here's "Dreaming Of Houses", another track from "Animal Heart".

true Faith

Flame-haired songstress, Paloma Faith, returns with "Can't Rely On You", a taster from her forthcoming, third longplayer.

For her new single, Paloma has ditched the 60s pastiche which consumed her debut album and colored much of her sophomore effort. Now she sounds bang up-to-date, sexier and seriously ferocious. She's still completely bonkers. Not convinced? Check out the vid.



Oooh! Paloma looks a bit like Geri Halliwell at the start of it. What's with all the spooky, Italian intro? Very dark, indeed.

You can tell by the bits and beats that Pharrell Williams twiddled the knobs on the track. He's hooting and hollering all over it. It will be interesting to see if this raises Ms. Faith's fortunes in the charts.

blue for you

Kylie Minogue, everyone's favorite, Aussie pop rocket is back, back, BACK! She returns with "Into The Blue", a brand new single from her forthcoming twelfth studio album. No word about whether previous singles, "Timebomb" and "Skirt", will appear on the long player.

"Into The Blue" marks the return of Pop Kylie after a brief sojourn into more club oriented sounds. I, for one, am thrilled to hear a new, frothy tune from her. It features a strong chorus, some contemporary EDM flourishes and muscular production. While Kylie's patented, breathy coo has been replaced with a strong, full voice on the new single, it will be interesting to hear the overall sonic landscape of its parent album.

Right now, all we have is a low quality version of the song. We'll replace it with a shiny, new vid with better audio shortly.



It's pleasant. A lovely return. However, it is far from what we've come to know as Classic Kylie. Fans are sure to be divided on "Into The Blue".

While it is a strong single choice, it doesn't stand out among the pack. It has a faint whiff of obvious chart chasing about it and almost sounds as if any number of the current crop of female warblers could have recorded it.

the toppermost of 2013

Hello, my friends. Yes, I have returned from the wilderness. Actually, I didn't go anywhere. A series of business plans, musical endeavors, and odd back issues caused me to be blogless for a while. Now, I'm back, back, BACK!

Let's kick off this short entry with a list of my ten, favorite longplayers of 2013. Hopefully, at some point, I will be able to go into more detail about each one. I promise to try to post as much as possible without another hiatus. For the time being, let's just look at my top picks. Drum roll, please!

David Bowie - "The Next Day"
Disclosure - "Settle"
Agnetha Fältskog - "A"
Goldfrapp - "Tales Of Us"
Alison Moyet - "The Minutes"
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark - "English Electric"
Pet Shop Boys - "Electric"
Prefab Sprout - "Crimson/Red"
ShyBoy - "Water On Mars"
Suede - "Bloodsports"

There you have it. Discuss amongst yourselves. There will be a quiz.