Niki N. Phaser

After a few days ago it was reported that Amelle Berrabah left the British pop force, Sugababes, it is now officially confirmed that it’s actually the last original member, Keisha Buchanan, that is no longer a sugababe. The departure was obviously not as peaceful as these events are advertised to be in Pop La-La Land. Buchanan herself confessed on her twitter page that “Although it was not my choice to leave, it’s time to enter a new chapter in my life”. This is not the end of Sugababes (should it be?), as a new member was already being groomed in the person of Jade Ewen, singer, actress and Eurovision contestant. The new Sugababes album, Sweet 7 will come out on November 23rd, probably re-recorded with Ewen, even though the last single to feature Keisha Buchanan, Get Sexy, reached the second spot in the UK and represented a strong comeback for the band. Maybe the music woun’t be affected, considering that the girls weren’t always holding writing credits, but it’s always sad when a band becomes an institution where people come and go.

After a batch of non-album singles, British electro-rock experimental duo, The Big Pink, are finally about to release a proper album. It’s entitled A Brief History of Love and will hit the (i)stores September 14. The album is consisting of some of the previously heard songs, like Velvet, Too Young To Love or Count Backwards from Ten, but also plenty of new material. And if you are still unsure about this new band, you should get in touch with their first official single from the album, one little wonder of a song by the name of Dominos. It makes the future of The Big Pink seem very interesting, as this song, which contains synths that sound like a maternal hum on a beat that sounds like a paternal call to battle, shows plenty of freshness. The video, directed by photographer/director Tim Saccenti completes the Dominos phenomenon quite well.

Dominos VIDEO

Bat for Lashes, or Natasha Khan if you prefer her non-stage name, has a new single for us. It’s called Sleep Alone and it will be released on September 7, though the video has already had its premiere. The 80′s feel of her previous videos, Daniel and Pearl’s Dream (from the successful album Two Suns), is ever so present in this new offering. Still, she’s not 80′s the way La Roux is 80′s, but more in the Kate Bush-influenced sense of the word. There is colour and weird narratives, but no disco here. Sleep Alone sounds more like a traditional tune, recorded professionally and Khan’s vocals really contributes to this.

These few retro elements in the music of Bat for Lashes seem more like sincere accidents, that is to say, genuine influence and not an attempt to cash in on a general trend in indie music. She seems very unaware of what is happening in popular music and in that lies a lot of her charm. Artists who have a world of their own are always cooler than those who rule the world.

If you got curious by now and are or have the chance to go to the States, you should know that Bat for Lashes is currently touring there and will be for the rest of August.

WATCH THE VIDEO FOR Sleep Alone