It's been several months since British fauxtown singer V.V. Brown released her debut album Travelling Like The Light here in the states. I kept hearing the single "Shark In The Water" on DMX 24, and I slowly became obsessed with this new variation on the Winehouse/Duffy sound that so many girls have been trying.
It's got a retro sound, but intermingling with the girl-group harmonies and tambourines are nods to the 80s electronic flourishes and 1970s punk. It has as much to do with the 60s as Grease 2, but that's OK. The songs are sticky bits of pop fluff with a soulful backbone. Nearly every track is a sing-along, and while it lacks the epic heartbreak of Amy Winehouse's modern retro masterpiece Back To Black, there are moments of real beauty.
"Bottles" reimagines "99 Bottles On The Wall" as a love song with a great garage rock sound, "L.O.V.E." covers its romantic sentiments with swing dancing, and "Shark In The Water" is simply genius. I'm afraid America might be too over saturated with retro pop acts, which is a shame because V.V. is worth a spin. Canada on the other hand?
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