Jess Mills - Pixelated People

At 2011’s Rockness, Jess Mills belted out the lyrics to legendary electronic act Leftfield’s ‘Original’ in front of a massive crowd. An appearance for 20,000 is not for the faint hearted, only those with incredible poise. Mills looks to have focussed this confidence into her next single, ‘Pixelated People’. A thudding drum beat ushers in Mills’ sultry voice, oozing from note to note as good as any female r&b singer on the scene now. It’s a good thing that her voice stands out, because the synth effects employed on this number are uninspired, though they add the needed drive and energy for a proper dance track.

Inspection of the words, particularly the chorus, and you might chortle to yourself, given that these days indie electronica artists like Mills herself are merely footmen in the digital age: “Pixelated people talk in low-fi sound bites / I found the trouble now it governs my senses / I stand saluting to the devil I rejected.” Chances are though, the people who will buy this single are the sweaty type, dirty dancing or pumping their fists in the air to the song in a club or at a festival this summer, and they aren’t paying attention to the lyrics. Don’t think about it this too much and you’ll find yourself joining in with the rest of them.