Friday, November 30, 2007
Leaf - Wonderwoman
It has to be said that central western Europe is not exactly a hotbed of musical aceness. Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Belgium will give us one good pop act a year if we're even lucky. But there's one exception: The Netherlands. I actually think that after Sweden, Norway and the UK, Holland is the next best producer of poptasticness, as they've given us loads of groovy pop acts, in a variety of styles, including some big favourites of mine such as K-otic, Anouk and Elize. Here is my latest favourite Dutch group, a somewhat Lily Allen-esque female singer with a band of boys, who display influences of soul, blues and ska, but add a catchy chorus and sunny attitude to make a very enjoyable new single. Think somewhere between Natasha Bedingfield and Jason Mraz. The singer seems very likeable and the superhero theme is fun. As with a lot of Dutch hits, I'm not sure if it's spectacular enough to become a crossover hit in the UK (because you have to remember that not being British or American is already a huge setback, unfortunately), but if it was British I think it would do very well, so it's proof that Brits should look a little further afield when they get bored of what's already on offer.