Cocknbullkid - Adulthood

Those looking for something to fill the void left by VV Brown shall leave this album delighted.

"It’s one of the hardest things to write a concise, three-minute pop song that people from A to Z are going to understand and enjoy. And that’s what I’ve tried to do on the album – write pop tunes."
- RobotPigeon, January 2011

It's been a long time since the 2009 release of her Querelle EP and the hype behind her has deteriorated somewhat, but all of the ingredients are still there for a great pop album. Produced by Liam Howe (who's lended his touch to Adele and Marina and the Diamonds), and fresh off the back of supporting Marina, Duran Duran and Kele Okereke, there's a pretty solid alternative fanbase for Anita Blay, the 25 year old face of CockNBullKid.

“I’ve always thought pop should never just be saccharine” she says, “It should be black and tortured too. There’s no point otherwise.” Indeed, on the opening title track, she laments "is this adulthood? Tell me when it starts; when it gets good" over a beat and tune not too dissimilar from last year's "Rill Rill" by Sleigh Bells: a chirpy and soft introduction to an otherwise sassy, bold album. The self-titled track introduces more conventional pop techniques with "Oh!"s and a piano-led melody - referencing Alice in Wonderland ("One pill makes you large, one pill makes you small. One pill makes you an absolute know it all.") It's a pretty self-referential pop tune about the expectations and demands made of a modern popstar - done with the same cuteness and tongue-in-cheek harmlessness as Lily Allen.


The second single from the record, 'Hold On To Your Misery', is a generous slice of Motown influences and reminders not to get too big for your boots. There are some heavily pop sensibilities about it that might alienate some of the more hardened first listeners, but this is to be expected with an uncovered talent given a record contract - a gospel choir chorus may piss off a few, but I'm not one of them. 'Yellow' throws in a couple of strings build-ups that in passing glimpses remind me of the Little Miss Sunshine with the immediately uplifting nature of it (emphasised with lyrics like "I don't want to regret a life that hasn't happened yet").

It's not hard to see why 'One Eye Closed' was chosen for the lead single - a rapid track with a strong guitar hook that continues to cement in the romantic lyricism ("I was made for you, designed as one of two") with a breezy, breathy vocal that's universally appealing. 'Distractions' calls back to her earlier material with an electronically-focussed tune, with a solid chorus and recurring melody that are a little bit reminiscent of last year's Goldfrapp record (which is a bit of a backhanded compliment in fairness). My personal highlight of the album, 'Bellyache' is a classically-inspired pop song with pretty lyrics, an effectively catchy tune and the kind of doe-eyed optimism that made Paloma Faith's album so great.

All sugarcoated niceties are brushed to the side temporarily for 'Mexico', a bold clash of drums that covers up some slightly clumsy lyrics (rhyming Mexico with Romeo and cold). There's a reference to LCD Soundsystem with 'Asthma Attack', beginning "London I love you but you're bringing me down" - going onto tell of the rather less cinematic pitfalls of dancing. At times her voice mimics the high-pitched cutesy tendencies of Leona Lewis but thankfully refrains from becoming as bland - a stomping disco pop tune ensures that. The refusal to let-up continues into 'Hoarder' with a Motown-remixed tune that asserts G-A-Y mottos such as "this is the house that heartbreak built" and "dresses don't fit no more".


After such a sugary disco, 'Dumb' comes as a bucket of water. But for me it comes off as a little too uneventful - slightly generic assertions such as "I'm not in love" and "I know it's over" are passed out over some slowly building attempts at majesty that just come off as boring. By contrast 'I Deserve It' is a quickfire piano tune with excitable vocal delivery and whilst the lyrics are equally corny, the energy behind it prevents it from festering. Finally 'Happy Birthday' shows off her vocal abilities, sounding like non-warbly Leona again, but over a track that sways from side to side with about as much enthusiasm as Lewis herself.

Overall there are many things to fault - the tracks don't really have any kind of ordering about them and it does feel a touch like a greatest hits compilation with no general thematics; there are times when the nursery-rhyme qualities begin to grate with an extremely camp corrosiveness. But what this album does possess is all of the pop tunes and freshness that 99% of current popstars lack. The lyrics are down to earth and at times genuinely emotional - fear, uncertainty and heartbreak are dished out without too many nonsense turns of phrase (feeling like a plastic bag she is not) - and whilst there's some doubt over whether she's stayed true to her early EP material, Adulthood is a flawed but honest pop masterpiece.

Rating: 8/10
Highlights: Bellyache, Asthma Attack, Adulthood, Hold On To Your Misery, I Deserve It, Yellow
Avoid: Dumb, Happy Birthday
Artwork Watch: A porcelain bust of herself. "This is the polished me", perhaps, "are you happy now?" *tips beret*