The ShortListen: Ladyhawke (no. 271)

Who? Ladyhawke

What’s the story? It is no exaggeration to say that the self-titled debut album by Ladyhawke, aka New Zealander Pip Brown, was one of the best and freshest records released in the last decade. Paris is Dreaming, My Delirium and Manipulating Woman were brilliant pieces of indie-electro-pop, and it even had the good grace to not quite go massive, meaning she was an in-the-know secret. However, second album Anxiety took four years to emerge, moved toward a more introverted sound and feel, almost as if she'd been shown the spotlight, and decided to shun it. So we await new album Wild Things with interest; it's a crucial one for her career-wise - and, by the sound of first single Sweet Fascination, she's decided to open up again. Big retro synths abound, massive electro drums blast away, there's just a mere hint of guitar and Pip's vocals sound confident and dynamic. More of this please.

For fans of: Haim, MUNA, Fleetwood Mac

In three words: Analog synth pop