CocknBullKid: Adulthood – review

CocknBullKid, Anita Blay. Photo: John D McHugh

This article titled “CocknBullKid: Adulthood – review” was written by Caroline Sullivan, for The Guardian on Thursday 19th May 2011 22.40 UTC

Hackney’s CocknBullKid, aka Anita Blay, has certainly come on a bit since she appeared at the 2008 Camden Crawl, squawking over discordant electronic backing. She has since signed to a major label and discovered a more saleable style of synthpop, here polished by Marina and the Diamonds producer Liam Howe. The result may scupper any residual claim to “edginess”, but this lustrous pop reveals Blay to be a confident singer and sardonic lyricist – you have to love an artist who can come up with a line as self-deprecating as “One pill makes you an absolute know-it-all”, as huskily crooned on the autobiographical track CocknBullKid. Howe’s production is lavish in its use of strings, piano and steel drums, varnishing the whole thing with a patina of carnivalish good vibes that contrasts intriguingly with Blay’s tetchy lyrics. New Lily Allens are 10 a penny these days, but this album makes a reasonable claim to the title.

guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010

Published via the Guardian News Feed plugin for WordPress.