Debby Friday - The Starrr Of The Queen Of Life

Track titles such as ‘All I Wanna Do Is Party’ and ‘In The Club’ paint a pretty solid picture of the driving beat that runs throughout underground electropop pioneer Debby Friday’s second album. Yet, by taking inspiration from the beating heart of the city, there’s a darker, luring undercurrent that sweats to the surface on the likes of the Anglo-French, talk-heavy ‘Arcadia’ and the distorted vocal-led ‘Leave.’ - two tracks that lean into both ‘Ray of Light’-era Madonna and late pop pioneer SOPHIE. ‘The Starrr…’ has clearly been born of sweaty city nightclubs and subsequent comedowns, tying together dancefloor escapism and the shock of hurtling back to the real world. It speaks of hedonism in its opening power four; the stomping, industrial ‘Lipsync’ is destined for heady Berlin clubs, before the album pushes Debby more towards melodic vocals than the violent discordance of her debut. Because of that, it’s perhaps more cohesive than 2023’s shamefully underrated ‘Good Luck’, an album that took home Canada’s coveted Polaris Music Prize but failed to make the commercial waves it truly deserved. The volatility that underpinned that record here twists with dark euphoria, continuing Debby Friday’s twisted, raving fantasy.