Nocturnes by Little Boots Out May 5th

           Little Boots is the stage name of British Electronic/Pop artist Victoria Hesketh. Her debut album “Hands” was released in 2009; for “Hands”, Little Boots worked with songwriter/producer Greg Kurstin on a number of tracks as well as Lady Gaga collaborator, RedOne, on the track entitled ‘Remedy’. Some of Kurstin’s work includes songs for P!nk, Kelly Clarkson, Lily Allen, Marina And The Diamonds, and many more singers.

            “Hands” spawned the singles ‘New In Town’, ‘Remedy’, and ‘Earthquake’. ‘New In Town’ is a feel good song that contains the lyrics, “I don’t have a lot of money but we’ll be fine. No, I don’t have a penny, but I’ll show you a real good time.” The party continues with ‘Remedy’ as the singer dances to the music that is the cure for your poison. ‘Earthquake’ is a bit of a departure from the party and is about the unraveling of a relationship. I love the irony that if you didn’t pay attention to the lyrics you would think that ‘Earthquake’ is a happy upbeat song.

            After soul searching via DJ gigs and working in the studio, Little Boots created a sound that she says is a better representation of the person she has become. The new album has a bit more of a Disco sound than a Dance/Pop sound but it is still very catchy and it still sounds like Little Boots.

            Preceding the album or even the announcement of the release date and album title, the singer released the songs ‘Shake’, ‘Every Night I Say A Prayer’, and ‘Headphones’. With the releases of ‘Shake’ and ‘Every Night I Say A Prayer’, Little Boots released mixtapes featuring the songs – “Shake Until Your Heart Breaks” and “Into The Future” respectively. You can listen to and download these mixtapes on the singer’s Soundcloud page. Out of the three songs, ‘Every Night I Say a Prayer’ has the most Disco influence in its sound. Because of this and the fact that ‘Shake’ has a long musical intro before the first verse, ‘Headphones’ is the most accessible and instantly likeable of the three songs. The music video for ‘Headphones’ is simple, but very fun and it shows that you don’t need crazy sets or special effects to make a good music video. It’s definitely worth a watch because it makes me smile.

            On May 5^th, Little Boots will release her second album, which she has entitled “Nocturnes” because of the important role that the night plays in this group of songs. The album will have ten songs, the first of which, ‘Motorway’, is available as a free download on the singer’s official website. Listeners also have the chance to listen to or purchase the next single, ‘Broken Record’, before the release of “Nocturnes”. Upon viewing the track listing for the album, you may notice that ‘Headphones’ is absent. I’m not sure what the reason was for leaving the song off the album, but what I do know is that we live in the digital age so luckily we can still buy the song.

            I hope that I’ve gotten another person excited for the release of “Nocturnes” on May 5^th – if I haven’t then I hope I’ve at least introduced you to a song that you like. At the bottom of the page are links to the Little Boots sites that I mentioned above – her official site, her Soundcloud account, as well as her Youtube account. Let me know what you think about the music of Little Boots and let me know if there are any albums that you can’t wait to get your hands on this year.

Take care,

Nico Black

Little Boots’ Official site:

http://www.littlebootsmusic.co.uk/

Little Boots’ Soundcloud:

https://soundcloud.com/littleboots

Little Boots’ Youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/user/littlebootsvideos