Clare Maguire - Light After Dark, a review

Next stop with the hype train is at Clare Maguire, a 23 year old chanteuse with vocal comparisons to the rather dizzying heights of Annie Lennox, Kate Bush and Stevie Nicks. With a producer and songwriter behind some of pop's most recent big hits (Fraser T Smith - the man behind "Broken Strings", "Break Your Heart" and much of Adele and Kylie Minogue's recent efforts), we're almost guaranteed a dance-pop record full to the brim with energy.

The intro, 'Are You Ready?', is a minute of Lennox-esque oohing increasing in volume and intensity over some dark synths - before launching into 'Shield and Sword', a song so perfectly crafted towards those of a poppy disposition. There are some shades of Beth Ditto about it - in that it's a throaty assault on breakups ("You and I are working on burning bridges now" ; "I no longer love you") over some arms-in-the-air backdrops. Next is 'The Last Dance', which has been confirmed as the second single. An equally warbly number it possesses all the right synth-hooks to please the gay contingent, but it's a little too brash for her voice, I feel.



There's some interesting variations in 'Freedom', the only track produced by someone else (Crada, a German that usually works with urban acts such as Drake and B.o.B.) - it's all string sounds and soaring vocals that make it a highlight. Perhaps one of the most pop-tinged is 'I Surrender', a synth-laden number that could just as easily be lifted from a Girls Aloud or Kylie single. Guitars and wildlife sounds give 'Bullet' a pleasant restrained aesthetic, slightly reminiscent of Yazoo thanks to Maguire's metamorphosis into Alison Moyet. It's full of slightly obvious but cute love/violence metaphors.

Twinkles and breathy vocals give 'Happiest Pretenders' a tense atmosphere but it's really the chorus that shines - probably one of the strongest on the album, but also slightly out of place with its verses. The synths are spared in 'Sweet Lie', a piano and drumbeat-driven tune that sounds an awful lot like one of Adele's recent album tracks - the strings a nod to "Set Fire to the Rain" - but lacks the punch to even come close. The Adele leftovers continue in 'Break These Chains' which this time has picked up SFTTR's piano tune, but again lacks direction.



'You're Electric' is a notably more urban-sounding track but by now it's so stale and similar to the rest of the album that you want it to go away. The first single from the album was 'Ain't Nobody', a moody and pacy ideal breakthrough. Quick strings prove minimal distraction from her whispers and ever-increasing howls. Maguire is perhaps at her strongest vocally on 'Light After Dark' which has excellent pop single potential. We wrap things up with 'This Is Not The End' (geddit? 'Cos it is lool x) which is all stripped back and sweet and not particularly exciting.

I think there's a slight problem in the messaging as to how I found out about her. Someone had built her up to be this Kate Bush-inspired outrovert and to be honest there's not really anything that unusual on this album to suggest that. Nevertheless, I can't detract from her vocal ability - and the first half of the album is very solid, good, pop indeed.

Rating: 7/10
Highlights: Shield and Sword, I Surrender, Freedom, Bullet, Ain't Nobody
Avoid: Break These Chains, Sweet Lie, You're Electric