Nina Nesbitt
The Sun Will Come Up, The Seasons Will Change
Cooking Vinyl
Scotland's Nina Nesbitt's second album has been a long time coming, and the effort that's gone into it shows. The Balerno-born singer-songwriter's new record, her first since leaving major label Island for independent label Cooking Vinyl, is slickly produced and well-considered. She's grown up – she's 24 now – and progressed musically since her more saccharine, acoustic guitar-filled 2014 debut Peroxide, which drew mixed reviews.
Nesbitt possesses an agreeably clean-cut vocal that slips into a dreamy falsetto on the tracks that could be considered cookie-cutter mainstream fodder by the most irksome of music snobs, but she's cleverly toeing a line between electronic, R&B and ethereal soul, all wrapped up in a poptastic bow. Songs like Colder fit into a that moodier pop space, reminiscent of Lorde and Rated R-era Rihanna, while Loyal To Me could have been an early Noughties Mis-Teeq hit. The Moments I'm Missing is another high point, Nesbitt giving off major Taylor Swift vibes. A notable improvement for this young rising star.
Lucy Mapstone
KEUNING
Prismism
Pretty Faithful
Nearly two decades after founding uber-successful rock band The Killers with Brandon Flowers, it’s guitarist Dave Keuning’s chance to shine as a solo artist. His debut Prismism is a cacophony of 1980s pop-rock, synthesisers and energetic, melodic riff-backed electro jams.
There’s more than a hint of a whiff of The Killers about the record, but this says more about Keuning’s clearly very strong influence on the band than anything else. It’s a shade more pop; a nudge more experimental, but not quite as anthemically satisfying.
Opening track Boat Accident has tinges of Katy Perry about it, but with a male vocal and a denser, rockier edge. It’s a strong start to an album that sometimes loses its way, caught in its own electronic vibe. Title track Prismism is a step too far with the use of autotune - a briefer utilisation of the technology would have sufficed.
But there are genuinely decent tracks here too. I Ruined You is a stomp, and the peppy Restless Legs, a summery track, is full of Killers-esque joy.
LUCY MAPSTONE
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