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So much music these days is derivative, samey and poorly thought-out. It provides listeners with an easy melodic fix, but little in the way of long lasting enjoyment. Enter Santogold.
Santogold is the public persona of American singer/songwriter Santi White – and it would appear that when she hasn’t been writing songs for the likes of Lily Allen and Ashlee Simpson, she has been putting a few gems aside for herself. Now if I were Lily or Ashlee, I’d be pissed – because Santogold’s debut album is the freshest collection of pop music I’ve heard in quite some time.
It is an intriguing mix of hip-hop, reggae, rock and world music infused into catchy pop melodies.
Genre bending doesn’t even come close to describing this. Lead single ‘Creator’ is dirty hip-hop at its finest (think Missy Elliot). The follow-up ‘L.E.S. Artistes’ is straightforward pop (channelling Nelly Furtado), while ‘Shove It’ & ‘Say Aha’ have a reggae flavour that turns out to be a thread that runs throughout the album.
This is all great stuff, but it doesn’t stop there. These tracks come from a songwriter so talented in her craft, she makes sure the music and lyrics add up to be more than the sum of the parts. The hope described in ‘L.E.S. Artistes’ seems to reflect her decision to go solo;
“Tell you what,
If I can shake it,
I'm 'a make this,
Something worth dreaming of...”
Welcome to the best pop album of 2008.
Essential Tracks
L.E.S. Artistes
You’ll Find A Way
Lights Out
I’m A Lady
Full Track Listing
1. L.E.S. Artistes (3:25)
2. You'll Find a Way (3:01)
3. Shove It (feat. Spank Rock) (3:46)
4. Say Aha (3:35)
5. Creator (feat. Switch & Freq Nasty) (3:33)
6. My Superman (3:01)
7. Lights Out (3:13)
8. Starstruck (3:55)
9. Unstoppable (3:33)
10. I'm a Lady (feat. Trouble Andrew) (3:44)
11. Anne (3:29)
12. You'll Find a Way (Switch & Sinden Remix) (3:13)
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