Released: 20/04/09

Despite only playing together for three years, this London-based trio have notched up some pretty impressive milestones. It’s almost as though The Noisettes are following a secret industry recipe for success, that or there’s Dorian Gray style sorcery afoot. So far the to do list stands like so:

Step one – get a reputation for electric live sets and tour with TV On The Radio, Tom Vek and Bloc Party, CHECK.
Step two – become fashion icons and have besotted reviewers eagerly compare your frontwoman to the likes of Debbie Harry and Patti Smith, CHECK.
Step three – sign to a gargantuan label and use a stylish advert for a leading car brand (cough, Mazda) as a vehicle for broadcasting your funky pop beats to the masses, CHECK.
With such rapid achievement already, The Noisettes‘ trajectory can only be sky high.

Don’t be fooled into thinking that these aesthetically pleasing popsters are just good looking cogs in a corporate run machine though. Not only is their sexy blend of funk and retro nostalgia shatteringly unique and lead singer Shingai Shoniwa’s fashion sense all her own, but they have won their place at the top by hard graft and exciting and unpredictable performances, especially during their packed out shows at SXSW. All retro shapes and disco glitter, their second album Wild Young Hearts is quite a departure from the dirty garage-rock previously associated with their well-dressed selves.

The title track is more 50s prom that 70s punk and its young love inspired lyrics and catchy melodies are imbued with a sunny kitsch that makes listeners want to luxuriate like a happy cat in the autumn light. Shoniwa’s perfectly articulated vocals sway from low and soulful to sugary ‘la la las’ but always exudes effortless cool. Never Forget You radiates similar sultry nostalgia and its cheerful harmonies and wistful strings rival Buddy Holly for top spot at the 1950s college dance.

The Noisettes however, do more than just tender and cutesy. Every Now And Then is a soul-felt journey into unresolved relationships, loss and loneliness. Awkward conversations are expertly conjured by a skipping intonation that trips off the tongue. It’s guttural and deep, and its compelling melody and orchestral finale invokes the power of a classic Bond theme. The sexy timbre of Shoniwa’s vocals, detectable in these tracks, really comes into its own when there’s a dance floor in sight.

Don’t Upset The Rhythm (the one from the telly) was made for a purple lit club complete with glitter ball and giant lapels. Whereas Saturday Night is so suited to a brakes remix that I’d put money on there being several in production this second – it’d be plain foolish not to. Saturday Night’s excess of synth and cow bell may borrow a little too heavily from the likes of indie/dance kids The Rapture but once the beat has got you percussive originality is really the last of your cares. I defy anyone to remain stationary as Shoniwa wails a gutsy chorus of “this is war”. I think we all know who’s going to win.

www.thenoisettes.com

Laura Snoad