An insightful review was written by Marc Hogan @ Pitchfork. So I figured I’d put my thoughts on this phenomenon Little Boots‘ album debut on the net as well - in the form of a track-by-track review.

1. New In Town (3:19)
New In Town is not the first single, but it has been given the most effort in marketing (check out the video at the bottom of the post!). It’s a classic’n'modern pop song that both Lady GaGa and Katy Perry could settle for. The raunchy rock-hinting chorus has got power and flair and the verses with accompanying bridges sound elegant. But I still believe that Fred Falke’s nu-disco-y remix complements the song better.
3/5

2. Earthquake (4:04)
Earthquake is another great example of what is wrong with Hands. The pop formula is easy to follow and hence it becomes quite boring. Victoria Hesketh’s mega-polished vocals sound flawless but don’t convey any vocal skills that she may or may not possess. The melody is also easy to follow - to a point where I begin to think that it actually sounds utterly naive. At times, for short snippets, the melody becomes an abomination of desperate pop songwriting. Solid. IF the flaws hadn’t been too many to maintain the facade. With songs like this Little Boots won’t kick up any earthquakes in the public pop forum.
1/5

3. Stuck On Repeat (3:21)
What happened to Stuck On Repeat? The original, epic, near seven-minute version of the track has been stuck on repeat in my ipod since last Autumn but this shortened version sounds a lot weaker. The immense build-up and grand atmospheric momentum is lost in a production that sounds inspired by Róisín Murphy’s Movie Star. What a shame on Little Boots’ absolutely best track…
2/5

4. Click (3:16)
Even though Jas Shaw of Simian Mobile Disco was put on co-producing this, it just doesn’t click with me. The bubbly space-trippy sound does, however work well together with Hesketh’s continuously mainstream and uninspired songwriting.
3/5

5. Remedy (3:19)
That Swedish feller RedOne has produced this comes as no surprise. It sounds like a dejected leftover from Lady GaGa’s The Fame, on which RedOne was one of the more prominent producers. The track, but especially the melody, makes me fear that we are travelling backwards in the evolution of pop music. Brrr… This is ice cold.
2/5

6. Meddle (3:16)
With the single Meddle, things are starting to become ugly on Hands. The pop tracks so far has been just below my line of appreciation. But now it’s turning plain embarrassing. Joe Goddard of Hot Chip, who was also involved in the production and songwriting of Stuck On Repeat, has created an interesting and dancey instrumental here, but the trite lyrics and clumsy melody here are just terrible.
1/5

7. Ghost (3:02)
The walk of shame goes on… I admire Hesketh’s ambition to involve a little unique personality and different inspirations on the album, even though she’s been missing more than hitting her goals so far on the album. But when the Balkan set of rhythm and melody rolls in on Ghosts it just becomes a bit weird. The song lacks a little insight in the cultural heritage that it depicts, even though I’d have no problem picturing this participating in Eurovision Song Contest, especially seeing that the length is perfect. Still, not even there would Little Boots with all her recent credibility reach very far.
1/5

8. Mathematics (3:25)
This is probably the deepest dip into the sea of nonsensical pop-for-the-sake-of-pop in the album. There’s not even a proper production to make up for the shameful lyrics and feeble melody. It’s a proof of a complete lack of good judgement and self-distance (even though Little Boots’ debut album would like to come across as self-aware at many times) that in the end has to be blamed the artist herself as it is her own songs that are being presented here.
0/5

9. Symmetry (4:30)
From track 9 and onwards, Hands pick up some steam again. The duet with Philip Oakey of The Human League leaves a lot of space for Hesketh to revel in her love for synthpop. Symmetry is a modern and glossy flashback to the League’s shining days that works surprisingly well. Why? Well, finally we have a new decent melody going on Little Boots’ debut album. Hurrah!
3/5

10. Tune Into My Heart (3:41)
In the very end, I must say I was a fan of Kylie’s X. Then it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the track that sounds like taken from one of the X sessions is pne of my favourite on the album. But, it’s not Greg Kurstin that is spooking, which may come as a surprise. It sounds EXACTLY like something he could’ve written for Kylie. The featured cooperating songwriter and producer is actually Pascal Gabriel (collaborator on Kylie’s Fever) which isn’t too far anyway.
3/5

11. Hearts Collide (3:45)
Little Boots, being the sassy dancepop diva she is, is often compared to Kylie Minogue. The comparison is many times more accurate than she’d probably would like to admit. Especially as she insists on working with old Kylie collaborators. Hearts Collide is another one of those mildly enjoyable, modern synthpop tracks that I could hear Kylie sing anytime, and it’s crafted by Richard “Biff” Stannard, a producer often busy in the fields of popular mainstream, e.g. Kylie Minogue.
3/5

12. No Brakes (4:02)
The chorus on this brooding track takes the album down a tiny bit again in my view. Once again, “Biff” is behind an otherwise elegant Kylie rip-off. A positive surprise is hearing Hesketh reciting a few words in a charming British accent that I just love. Embracing that cultural aspect might’ve helped her forge a more personal and consistently independent album in style.
2/5

Total album score: 2

For all its flaws, its extremely cheesy melodies, and its naive desire to make pop music for the sake of it, I may enjoy Hands in small doses. It’s easy to say: “Hey let’s just take it for what it is and let the fun times unroll!“. And Hands is quite fun at times, there’s no question about that, but it also tries to deliver something greater than that and it tries to be or come across as a little more (spacey, epic, atmospheric, sincere, credible…) than just a fun, good old-fashioned, plain pop album. And it often fails miserably in that sense. The only interesting thing about it is that it is the first real popular album that has been able to balance both indie/alternative and mainstream qualities in such a way that it is fully able to transcend the boundaries - which is something that in itself should be rewarded. Still, from my point of view, Hands is one of this year’s let-downs (there’s always an obligatory, relatively low but unknown number of albums each year) right beside MSTRKRFT’s Fist Of God.

Despite my rather mellow and negative response to the album, I’d recommend Hands for buying. The fun times that it does deliver can sometimes, in small doses, make up for the bad times you may experience. If you’re down for some polished, clean and untouchable pop, then this is an album for you. Not least, Little Boots is still one of those artists you should’ve heard by the end of 2009, even if her debut album was a disappointment to me.

Buy Hands!

Little Boots - New In Town