Bobble Head, a mini-review



If looks were anything to go by, and let's face it - in pop, they are, then I believe we may have just found another John Lennon. Excuse me whilst I gush a bit. Phwoaaaaaaaaaaar.

Ahem. I got an email just over a week ago with some free downloads of his material and whilst it's taken time for me to get around to listening, it's only courteous I finally do it. I only have 3 songs so I should be cautious about writing him off or bigging him up too much. A 20 year old DJ from Denver, named because of a little figure on his speakers that would bob to his music, he's very much a product of the DIY generation. With self-production increasingly more popular and achievable courtesy of constant technological developments, Bobble Head (aka Hunter Brown) is one such producer.


But what of the music? Well, I'm not quite as blown away as I was by his looks. The three tracks are certainly bound for the dancefloor and I'd kind of describe him as a male Ke$ha. Though the lyrics and beats aren't nearly as corny or crass as hers, there's a repetitive element to the lyrics that almost seems to drum home the track (particularly in RoBoDic) - but I can't deny the potential here. The tunes are lingering and carefully crafted to build euphoria, whilst providing strong enough rhythms to make you dance (Like Nobody's Watching... oh I'm so funny (for that is one of the other track titles, you see. Not so funny when you have to explain your joke.))

There are some gimmicks though - whether it's the gunshots in 'Lock and Load' or namedropping himself at the beginning of 'RoBoDic' - that are good foundations for establishing an individuality (which, let's face it, is difficult in today's music environment).

I just get a huge deja vu experience with Simon Curtis last year. The premise is very similar - attractive (granted, not nearly as much as this God) electro-pop newbie puts out some tongue-in-cheek tracks and only pop fans lap it up. The buzz about him I have to admit is very similar, mostly listeners who'll flick between Ke$ha and Katy Perry at the height of their exploration. But it's very much early days and there's certainly a lot of potential; let's not forget he wrote and produced this all himself and with a bit of exposure and attention there could be something to watch out for.

Rating: 6/10

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues, a review

Image
In 2008 the Fleet Foxes launched onto the music scene with their eponymous debut, landing themselves #1 positions in end-of-year reviews from the likes of Pitchfork, The Times and Mojo. Their unique brand of baroque-fused folk struck a chord with many, and the time has now come for them to follow that success up. In May they will release 'Helplessness Blues', the title track for which they recently released as a free download. The opening track 'Montezuma' is a slow repeat of their signature sound - the version I have unfortunately riddled with a few technical glitches - a minimalist and pensive reflection on life and impending death. In dirth or in excess /Both the slave and the empress/ Will return to the dirt I guess/ Naked as when they came. There's a slight rockabilly tune to 'Bedouin Dress', a slight threat to Robin's claim that the record will be "less poppy, less upbeat and more groove-based". The groove is certainly here, a Garfunkelia
Read more

Lady GaGa - ARTPOP

Image
Ah, the Lady GaGa album cycle. It's rivalled only by the surfacing of a celebrity's nudes in the "what gets the gays riled up" stakes, and is subject to a hideous level of hyperbole, high expectations and Germanotta's own unmistakeable hubris. This time around she's stretched as far as vowing to be the actual first popstar to perform in space (many have claimed they will, but apparently she actually will), has made a typically overstated cameo in Robert Rodriguez's Machete Kills , and gone down the gimmicky app route that Bjork and Jay Z did to varying results (Bjork's was innovative and interesting, Jay's was done for a deal with Samsung, go figure). GaGa herself has clumsily tread between the two: her own app appeared to be free, as she probably intended, but now something's popped up, most likely thanks to the label, with O2 that charges consumers £1 a week to listen to it a week earlier than its release date. This careless slipping be
Read more

Icona Pop - Icona Pop

Image
Although usually condusive of a bemused shrug (honestly, I swear some of their featured musicians are made up), the 'Best New Track' feature of Pitchfork occasionally throws up something surprising and instantly loveable: I Don't Care by Icona Pop was just one of them. So when this was also recommended by Popjustice, and given my desperate attempts to immerse myself in pop music and simultaneously be cool, I hopped aboard the bandwagon with gusto. And you know what? I love it. That phenomenal single aside, Sweden's newest pop sensations have, off the back of their international (modest) success, find themselves yet to take over the UK or States. Let's hope, then, that they're not doomed to an embarrassing record label drop and future solo efforts on the X Factor (in the same vein as Mini Viva , who had equally brilliant but tragically-ignored singles) or a series of delayed release dates of album #2 ( VV Brown ). The album, however, seeks to buck the
Read more