Santogold

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Santogold

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I first heard of Santogold late last year when a few sites, Rolling Stone and The BBC included, raved about her being one of the faces to watch out for in 2008. I later found out she contributed her vocals to "Pretty green" on Mark Ronson's "Version" album.

First of all, I was amazed to find out she's American, I think she sounds very British, not unlike M.I.A. whom almost everyone keeps comparing her to, but with more pop appeal. Her voice is something of a raspy yell, not unlike Gwen Stefani's, and her sound is a hodge podge of eighties music styles.

Determined not to get pigeonholed as an R&B singer on account of her race, she tackles electro dub; the moody "Shove it", "Creator" (laden with electronic buzzes and effects), the fantastic "Unstoppable" (with jittery sounding synths, a favourite of mine), and the remix of "You'll find a way". The last pair are the most M.I.A sounding on the album.

The rest is electro rock/pop. Opening cut "L.E.S artistes" has chugging synths and wouldn't sound out of place on a No Doubt album. Bouncier are "You'll find a way", and "Say aha". "My superman" (with a laid back vocal delivery) is a creepy sounding song with an echoing riff, it sounds like the soundtrack to some spy thriller and is a favourite of mine.

"Lights out" has her singing in a smooth cooing voice not unlike Debbie Harry in Blondie, set to a chugging riff (and jangly guitars). "Starstruck" is a slow grinding number with moody sounding synths and electro flourishes, and also downtempo is "I'm a lady" (think Gwen Stefani's "Cool"), and the mellow "Anne" with ghostly wailing and a gently pulsing synth riff is awesome.

Listening through the entire album, I found there wasn't any single track I wanted to skip. Diverse sounds and intelligent lyrics which all stand well together. Pure Gold in my opinion, and yes, she's definitely one to watch out for!

After seeing the intriguing video for the equally excellent first single, "L.E.S. Artistes," I immediately pre-ordered this debut from Santogold and patiently waited for its release. When I finally heard it, I must admit that I was a bit disappointed. Almost all of the songs on this self-titled disc can abe neatly split up into two simple categories: there are the experimental, out-of-the-box tracks that are very much like what M.I.A. does, and then there are 80's-esque pop/rock songs that sound exactly like something Gwen Stefani would do. Quite honestly, there is not much more in between, meaning that this album mostly feels like it's full of impersonations and style-biting rather than new music by a new, fresh, talented, and creative artist. Santogold brushes off all the M.I.A. comparisons, and she accredits the similarity to working with some of the same producers (Switch and Diplo, mostly). But any discerning listener will hear that the similarities do not end at the production. Santogold snatches M.I.A.'s unique delivery with the slightly nasal, sorta-rapping-sorta-not thing. Although both excellent songs, the slinky and dark production on both "My Superman" and "Starstruck" are almost identical to that of Maya's "$20" off her last album, Kala. At the end of the latter, there is a continuous chant of "ay! ay! ay!" that is extremely reminiscent of the ending of "The Turn," also from Kala. And just don't get me started on "Creator." I could go on. Most of the rock songs are very stale, and--surprise!--they sound very dated. And when these tracks are good (the summery and breezy "Lights Out," which is the song featured on the new Bud Light Lime commercials), her unbearably whiny voice ruins the moment. The best songs on this collection are the genuinely unique "L.E.S. Artistes," the deliciously childish "Shove It," "My Superman," "Starstruck," the tick-tocking "Unstoppable" and the remix "You'll Find A Way". (The original rock version sound very off; the vocals and background don't match properly, in my opinion.) Overall, this is still a decent debut album with some very enjoyable tracks, and some others that aren't so great. The only problem is that she needs to sepaprate her identity from her inspiration; next time I want something that is one-hundred-percent Santogold. Not 80's pop/rock. Not Gwen Stefani. Not M.I.A. Just Santogold.