Ladyhawke, aka Pip Brown, cites Nicks, Blondie, Pat Benatar and Kim Wilde as influences (among an eclectic, rambling list of other musicians and various emotions, including "nostalgia, pining, loneliness, depression"). While you can hear each of those frontwomen come through the record, it is fellow 80s icon Cyndi Lauper who Brown seems to channel most distinctly on the superb
Back of the Van
.
Opening with the sultry
Magic
,
Ladyhawke
has instant appeal, but it's not until you reach
Better Than Sunday
that the album really hits its stride. From there, Brown reels off one contagiously soaring track after another, including
Another Runaway
and current radio single
Paris Is Burning
.
While the bass-driven saunter of
Love Don't Live Here
stands out with its deceptively dreamy chorus - the soft, shimmering refrain disguising the broken-hearted lyrics - the fact is, there is not one bad song on the album.
Where most records drift off to a nondescript end, Ladyhawke keeps listeners grooving till the last second with the whirling chorus and handclaps of
Professional Suicide
, stonking
Dusk till Dawn
and sweeping, guitar-licked closer
Morning Dreams
.
From start to finish, it remains a fun romp through the music archives, fused with Brown's curiously aloof-yet-alluring vocals. But most importantly, it is entirely accessible.
The Masterton-born musician may be earning a legion of supercool, scenester fans around the world, but Brown's passion and talent are entirely genuine - and who can resist that?
Joanna Hunkin
