Ladyhawke - Ladyhawke

(aka Pip Brown) is a one-woman show. A lady of many talents, she’s been playing music one way or another since she was eleven and it shows: the whole album, track for track, is polished and catchy. Her slightly rough and breathy vocals are accompanied by backing vocals, bass guitar, drums, electric guitar, guitar, keyboards, synthesizer, and, you guessed it, she does it all.

‘Magic’ sets the tone: immense, theatrical and synth-tastic. ‘Another Runaway’ a throwback to the decade of big hair, the influence of the 70s and 8os evident in the measured guitar riffs layered by rhythmic synth-work. ‘Morning Dreams’ is the ballad of the album, still grand in design, but more wistful, better for swaying - lighters and glowing cell phones held aloft, waving in the gloom, - rather than a dance-floor filler.

The second single, ‘Paris Is Burning,’ would fit right in, booming from the foot-tall speakers of a nightclub. Though thoroughly modern with a beat measured in hand-claps, it’s still reminiscent of Gary Numan’s ‘Cars,’ and you just want to sing along. ‘Professional Suicide,’ na-na-naing with a cynic’s advice, and ‘Dusk Till Dawn,’ methodic do-do-doos are a double-hit. They cement the dichotomy of upbeat beats and downtrodden lyrics.

The album is arena-worthy and pyrotechnics-inspiring, and you start seeing that Ladyhawke is very serious when she says, ‘The louder, the better.’