Lily Allen has a new record out and judging by the glimmering first single, it may live up to the promise of her debut. But more importantly, everyone knows that when someone as inimitable as Lily Allen strikes gold, a crop of soundalikes blossom immediately. Last time around, the most successful one of these was Kate Nash -- who, for all her charms, was a bit too much of a copycat, down to the nuanced accent and honkytonk piano diddles. But this year, we have someone who only minimally seems inspired by Allen's bravado -- VV Brown.
I've resisted bantering about her as her brilliance has been pretty widely covered, but there's something about Brown's doo-wop fabulosity that makes the potential of overexposure nothing but an excellent thing. Over in the golden land of pop -- the UK, naturally, Brown's already won a modicum of exposure with her first single Crying Blood. But it's her second single that we need to keep our ears peeled for. Leave! features the best marriage of eyeblindingly colorful haute couture and boxes since Robyn's Handle Me. While an American release date is still pending, her debut Traveling Like the Light is poised to populate store shelves across London in May. She's also going to opening sets for both Ladyhawke and The Ting Tings. Also, please ignore all lazy comparisons to Janelle Monae.
Rohin Guha is a Brooklyn-based writer whose idea of a good time includes kim chi and draft beers. He is a blogger for BlackBook Magazine.
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