Katy B - On A Mission (4 April 2011) - hype, anticipation &c

xp well yeah (idk about musgraves but) it's that sugababesness, callow teen realness with a disarming wisdom. as i say it's like a lovers rock / punk intersection forever haunting the ldn bluster imo

I hadn't considered the Musgraves connection but otm: what in other contexts is a workaday voice imbuing the material with intimations of mortality.

I like the Kacey comparison. Both have an intense likeability that connects with people regardless of genre. Even some similarity in lyrical approach (although Kacey is sharper) - Katy says she starts songs with a visual image or scenario in her head and then tries to describe it.

It's pretty obvious that Rinse never really expected Katy to blow up to the extent she did. She's a better songwriter than most of yr jobbing funky divas for hire, and she has a better voice than most of them as well. It's probably that coupled with ability to work internally with Geeneus etc that helped get the album recorded. Even taking race into account, if you were self-consciously grooming someone for major success in 2010 you probably wouldn't have picked Katy.

― Matt DC, Monday, January 27, 2014 3:50 AM Bookmark

Also the Magnetic Man connection definitely gave her a leg up, as dodgy as they can be sometimes.

Kyla and Egypt both effectively had one really good song each, right?

My expectations are actually pretty low for this album. None of the singles have done much for me.

i still think there's enough room for it to be brilliant... or completely disappointing.

"crying for no reason" has grown on me and "5 AM" never needed to but yeah, this could go either way for me

i still think there's enough room for it to be brilliant... or completely disappointing.

yeah it's weird i like all the singles so far a lot without LOVING them, they all sound like great album cuts. feel like i could be on the verge of loving "crying for no reason" tho, having totally dismissed it at first

So I'm just three years late on this one but I have fallen completely in love with her first album. That Graham Norton performance of Crying for no Reason made me really fall for that song so I thought I'd actually try the first album despite not really liking the singles when it came out (mainly On a Mission and Lights On) I now know it's just a fantastic album all the way through. It sounds like the kind of album Sugababes could have put out after One Touch if they'd kept that original lineup. You all know this of course and are waiting for the next album, just thought I'd add myself to her fanclub.

Oh and I cannot unhear the "Now if there's one thing I can't stand it's Africans" line. Every single time!

I like the new album but not sure if I love it yet.

Wait is the new one out there yet?

Nah press stream.

seems to me that they had a really poor feel for which of the songs on this were the best and thus should be released as singles

cf rudipherous correctly intuiting the reggaeton vibe of 'what love is made of'

It's so rare for anyone to refer to something I've said on a uk dance/pop thread that I should probably just let this stand, but I'm pretty sure I was just talking about the video for that song, especially the foggy drag racing scene. It looked a lot like a typical Wisin y Yandel or Hector the Father (etc. etc.) video from around 2005. I don't really hear reggaeton or even a broad Latin influence in the song, tbh.

But now I'm listening to "Crying for No Reason" for the first time and can it does have a dembow lite feel to it. (So maybe she had been watching reggaeton videos.)

good album, def a bit... understated. "everything" stands up with anything off the debut tho imo

"emotions" is a better version of "crying for no reason" imo

the sampha track is cool too, nice that they didn't go with a ballad

"emotions" is outright awesome actually

i feel like in rudimental's uk "emotions" could be huge (and it's better than their D&B songs). should be a single imo.

def feels like she's trying to emphasize her vocals more than the last album... "all my lovin'" is a straight wub-wub ballad that sounds pretty generic to me, like could be on american radio. but her voice sounds great

oh no do i go to a friend's birthday drinks tonight or stay in and listen to this

I based my initial resistance to "Crying For No Reason" on my surprise at hearing a track decelerated and constructed around her vocal; initially it sounded like she was attempting a Diane Warren ballad.

nothing wrong with the occasional diane warren ballad

finding this a lot less...outgoing than on a mission on one listen. more pensive, more feelings, more inward-looking. could be the kind of album that really gets its hooks into you after a few listens...might not be. am where rennavate is, basically

Agreed about this being more inward looking. The album feels less immediate, but I think the songs are there. I think the production is a little generic at times, shifting the focus to her more, and thankfully Katy can carry it. I like the Sampha track because it's brighter than the majority of the album, like someone spritzed some lemon in a very heavy cocktail.

anyone have a contact for this?

"emotions" is pretty stunning imo

I wonder what J0rdan thinks of "Emotions".

sorry i've been listening to that song all day, you guys will have to deal

Question: which song from the first album has had the most resonance for you guys? Mine is "Easy Please Me."

same

My life the last decade.

"power on me" and "movement" were always my two jams off that

"witches' brew" was the standout for me

in terms of personal resonance probably... "louder"!

Katy harmonizing with herself on the "Movement" chorus is gorgeous

Broken Record, for the things in one's head that never stop turning.

yeah probably "broken record" for personal resonance, though i keep on movin' with the lights on

"disappear," easily, either that or "go away" but really "disappear"

"broken record" and "go away"

"disappear" is an odd case in that it's my favorite both on personal-resonance and musical-quality grounds

on a mission is an album full of highlights, pretty much beginning-to-end.

the breakdown in "i like you" is still immense but man that too-loud snare is going to do my head in forever

WHY IS IT THERE TSS-TSSING AWAY RIGHT IN YOUR EAR THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE SONG????

tell you what, this album could really stand to be heard on NOT A FUCKING PRESS STREAM. i want to hear it on headphones and walk around with it

"everything" and "hot like fire" are definitely the standouts

The album is released in less than 2 weeks so you won't have long to wait for a non-press stream.

I've never not liked anything Jacques Greene has done so yeah, "Sapphire Blue" is a standout here.

i like champagne but you don't like the taste / so i drink yours cuz i don't like to waste / i like it ghetto, you like it bougie / but i like it most when it's just you and me