Its sound is almost wilfully unfashionable, poking around in some long-undisturbed corners of pop history.  Full text...

Payne is a natural singer, with a subtle vibrato and the ability to change her tone on a sixpence. The arrangements that back her are stylish, too – retro pop with smart flourishes, such as the folky violin on the excellent Why Should I Settle for You? Rather like Findlay Brown, Payne shows how, when you’ve got the hooks, a trip to the terrain of the past can be most rewarding.  Full text...

Vocally Candie Payne comes across as a strapping lass, perhaps with a heavily-dyed beehive and fluttering stuck-on lashes thick with mascara, the kind of nightclub singer with a line in sparkly dresses and an anchor tattoo on her bicep, who doesn't take any shit from anyone.   Full text...

Her debut album arrives via a hook-up with Simon Dine, the producer behind the trip-hop of Noonday Underground. On I Wish I Could Have Loved You More, he applies his sample-based arrangements to her Mari Wilson-style vocals, creating backdrops ranging from the Spector-esque wall of sound of "One More Chance", all deep, burring horns and dramatic drums, to the subdued "Jean Genie" stomp of "Hey Goodbye", and the soundtrack trumpet stylings of "Why Should I Settle For You?", which sounds like Portishead fronted by a pop singer rather than Beth Gibbons.  Full text...