Daveportivo's Cultural Evaluation Facility

Anniemal despite it's eye rolling title is a slight and seductive record. It's sleek, sexy and slight. Having roped in Richard X and Royksopp on production duties their influences immediately shines through with some gorgeous shimmering yet understated synthpop beats. Every inch of this record shines and squelches, it's all incredibly precise, it's been superbly streamlined, every beat and every rhythm feels inch perfect. Anniemal does feel distinctively European and can feel dated at times but on the whole the record sounds gorgeous, it's almost to perfect. At times it feels over produced yet it balanced out divinely by Annie's voice. It feels paper thin, almost fragile, but there's a sexy honesty to it, that gives the record it's strength. In the midst of this unstoppable robotic disco beat machine lays the almost ghostly Annie; whose voice floats effortlessly atop of the music. She doesn't really have vocal power but instead she offers a soft seductive monotony, her voices is calming, it soothes. It provides a wonderful contrast that perfectly offsets the almost inhumanely slick beats.

Chewing Gum the albums biggest single now sounds rather dated, like a nineties hangover, one of those moments where Europe feels about five years behind the UK & US. It's sounds like it was destined to adorn the soundtrack to an episode of Veronica Mars. The dated feel almost adds to the charm of this wonderful light and irresistible sweet slice of pop genius (remember when Scandinavian's used to churn this stuff out in their sleep?). Elsewhere the album picks up a sweet bouncy flow as Annie dazzles with an all out charm offensive. Me Plus One is simply too slick to be resisted with it's devilishly deceptive lyrics, No More Easy Love has a sticky 70s funk vibe and sees Annie crooning so faintly it feels as though she's singing from deep within your subconscious as she psychoanalyses her love life. Both tracks feel effortless and earnest, artificial but honest, fanciful yet powerful, it's a remarkable feat and they are both unqualified successes. However the albums clear standout is the beautiful Heartbeat, it's quite simply one of the greatest pop songs ever written, it gets better with each and every listen. It pounds and pulsates and turns into an understated powerhouse, it's honest, emotional and instantly relateable, it's perfect pop, and tragically it feels like a lost classic.

Ultimately Anniemal is a collection of twelve sublime pop songs, it's an album that has a light touch, it flows and bends together beautifully, it's been expertly crafted and the attention to detail really pay dividends. It has a real mix between shimmering disco, sexy funk and delicate Scandinavian vocals. No single track overstays it's welcome, and no track other than the mind blowing Heartbeat truly stands out instead, you have one gorgeous flowing pop song after another, highlighted by the seven minute Come Together that flows so effortlessly it feels like a dream, it flies softly by never remotely dragging. Anniemals is a remarkable record it never threatens to feel deep, yet it's not at all shallow, Annie's introspective vocals give the songs a light power and sense of meaning but they never grate, there's not a sense of urgency instead its a charming calming smooth package, it's pure pop in the classic sense. Towing the line between Lily Allen's introspection and Lady Gaga's glitz beautifully, but ultimately Anniemals doesn't bare comparison, it feels like a ghost, like a memory of pops past before the battle lines were drawn, before it felt like a dirty word, Annie has an ethereal quality, she's the most mainstream artist who was never destined for the mainstream, and she's forged one of the decades great and most influential debut records.

Now for those of you that are not aware DJ Kicks is not an album of new materiel it instead a mix album created by Annie and part of a relatively successful series where various acts and djs get the chance to mix their own dream compilations. It's designed to give an insight into each artists influences as well as uncovering some great tracks that may have otherwise been lost to the majority were it not for the superstar name association. Other recent entrants into the DJ Kicks compilations have come courtesy of the likes of Hot Chip and Chromeo so that should give you an idea of what is to be expected.

Now two things should become apparent from the word go; first that Annie has a broad and diverse range of influences and musical interests, and second that she's not the greatest dj in the world. The album doesn't really flow and at times can feel like a total clusterfuck. Best exemplified by the jump from the electronic squelch of La Bionda's I Wanna Be Your Lover to the rockabilly jaunt of Alan Vega's Jukebox Babe, it's an ugly and awkward transition. It's kind of like forcing Kraftwerk, Elvis Pressley and a bunch of cuddly toys into a small room while Royksopp lay down the beats, it's just not right, but it does have a certain daffy charm. But really this album is all about the song selection rather than the mixing skills, and Annie pulls out some absolute diamonds Zongamin's Bongo Song is grooves like a mother fucker, with it's thudding bongo clap laid over a Gossip style rhythm with the bpm turned way up so it's actually danceable. The real highlights comes from unravelling Annie's own tastes from the off the wall campiness of Lady Bug (I Wanna Be Your) to the sweet Beatles meets Kraftwerk charm of I Wanna Be Your Lover to the pulsating cartoony hooks of ESG's My Love For You. Of course the album pays lip service to Annie's rock crossover credibility with Death From Above's superb Black History Month but it almost feels like a mood breaker rather than a powerhouse centrepiece.

Unfortunately by the final clumsy mix of Mu's Paris Hilton and Datarock's classic Fa Fa Fa the album has fallen flat. It just doesn't work as a compilation, while there is undoubtedly a scatterbrained charm, and the joy of discovering what surprise is waiting around the next corner but it simply fails to hold the attention. There are some treasure's to be uncovered especially from Annie's native Denmark but the lack of a clear flow gives little incentive for anyone to listen through this compilation from start to finish. However by far the biggest disappointment comes from Annie's own tracks; Wedding is limp lyrically and buried under a never ending barrage of annoying effects, and Gimmie Your Money lacks the earthiness and honesty of her previous song writing and fails miserably as a satirical stab. So all in all when it comes to DJ Kicks it's really a case of try before you buy, there's certainly some tracks worth discovering but as an album this purchase is unjustifiable.

If You Like This Then Consider: The rest of the DJ-Kicks series.

It has to be said the prospect of Annie teaming up with the pop masterminds at Xenomania was utterly tantalizing, however as Franz Ferdinand found out the magic touch that turned Girls Aloud into legitimate musical sensations doesn't necessarily translate to the fiercely independent artiste. Yet really there was no reason to worry after all, this is Annie the woman so drenched in syrup and synths that she even snores in irresistibly catchy hooks. The most noticeable difference from her debut work Anniemal is the beefed up production, it's still sleek and sharp but it's more modern, more imposing and more powerful. They've traded in indie charm for mainstream punch, as the electronica really buzzes and churns with the superclub dance floors in mind rather than D.I.Y discos. Is it a step in the right direction? Definitely, it may not have the charm or the originality of Anniemal but an auto-pilot sequel would have been a let down, Don't Stop sees Annie beef up her sound, evolving into something more contemporary instead of resting on her laurels, without losing the spirit and cookiness that made her stand out in the first place. Although I do rather miss the sticky sexy funk jams of her debut.

Lyrically and vocally Annie has evolved, gone is sweet ethereal introspection and in its stead stands a ballsy bratty punk attitude. The album's title track shows off Annie's new direction most clearly, gone is the sweaty pie croon in it's place comes some fast paced quasi-rapped boasting "I dress up to dress you down, And I'm gonna get the rhythm grooving". The confused Anniemal has definitely emerged as a ballsy pop diva but she hasn't forgotten her roots Don't Stop still has a quirky sega megadrive electronica feel and the pre-chorus has a wiff of Cococabana about it. Across the album she merges cheeky riot girl pop of early nineties stalwarts Shampoo with the airy cool of Shirley Manson and runs it through the 21st century posturing of Lady Gaga and Girls Aloud. This effect is most prominent on Don't Stop's pounding opener My Love Is Better which sees Annie throwing her sexuality in our faces:

So Eat It"

There's obviously a morose tongue in cheek irony to each line but it seems a far cry from the girl who wrote Heartbeat, regardless it's a hell of an album opener and a great statement of intent. However the new sound fairs less well on the generic Hey Annie which simply sounds too forced with it's Gaga-eske opening and spoken vocals, it's all rather bland and unnatural, ultimately it tries too hard to be steamy.

We get more of a sense of the authentic Annie on Bad Times, Take You Home and I Don't Like Your Band she's still being brash and cocky but it's distilled by her sweet and delicate croon, which in this context sounds wonderfully sarcastic and playful. I Don't Like Your Band in particular sounds defiantly European and should point the way to Annie's future sound. The album's clear standout however is second single Songs That Remind Me Of You which sees Annie in beautiful voice (has she discovered auto-tune one wonders?) with a storming beat that rumbles like a horse at full canter while layers upon layers of effects dazzle. However it's the hook that really gets you, with Annie's voice at it's most hypnotic it just swirls majestically around your cortex as the beat subtly develops to control your feet and demand that you dance. It's one of the rare moments where Annie's recalls the beautiful ethereal sound of Anniemal. Don't Stop however, is not without failures; Marie Cherie again attempts to seduce with a hypnotic looping hook but it doesn't quite come off and can really grate, it's not bad it's just not quite their. The same can be said of the jarring The Breakfast Song it seems like Annie's tribute to ESG but the chorus and obnoxious beat are near unbearable. There are times during Don't Stop when it feels severely overproduced, it stops feeling like a pop record and begins to feel like a soundtrack to a tv advert, albeit a damn cool advert, but an advert none the less.

These quibbles cannot damped Don't Stop which on the whole is a superb product, full of sharp well polished pop music. It still retains the excellent pacing and production values of Anniemal, as an album it flows from start to finish delightfully making for a light enjoyable listen. However Don't Stop is more schizophrenic, Annie hasn't quite found her new voice, she's never quite settled, the production ties the tracks together but stylistically the tracks feel distant, one minute it's brash, one minute it's sweet, a few tracks feel like classic Annie or homages to her influences and a few tracks sound new, alien and more contemporary. It sounds like an album that took five years to make, some of the tracks feel distant, there clearly from a different time in her life when she was in a different state of mind. As a result there are some clangers, and it's easier to pick out the stands than it was on consistently excellent Anniemals. So Don't Stop isn't the next big step, it's a hodge podge, but a very well produced hodge podge, Annie's knack for creating irresistible hooks hasn't gone away and this is still a top notch pop record. However the competition in the pop world is considerable stronger in 2009 than it was in 2004 and Don't Stop doesn't stand out in the way it once would have, but it still comfortably cements Annie among pop's elite. Now please Annie get to work on your third LP and for the love of God don't make us wait five years this time.

The Fame - Lady Gaga, The Sound Of - Girls Aloud