Bleep

Normally, an artistic shift for a creator is signalled by a withdrawal from the rat race, a monkish retreat to a simpler environment where a mind can ponder the elusive creative progress. But for artist and producer Julie Campbell aka LoneLady, the jump from Manchester’s crumbling outskirts to set up a new studio in an 18th century shooting range in central London had the inverse effect. Despite the metropolitan bustle outside, her third album Former Things comes off as an LP of isolation; without backing band and without intrusion. Remarkably, it’s also LoneLady’s most unapologetically pop-minded release to date.

The taut, acerbic skronk of Campbell’s Telecaster still scrapes Former Things with embellishments of no-wave sensibilities, but a new-found fascination with hardware, drum machines and synthesisers opens a whole new realm of possibility for the musician. ‘(There Is) No Logic’ leads the LP with a sequencer-laced, alt-disco flare, akin to an art-pop era Scritti Politti track, propelled with endless forward motion by a wiry funk spirit. The detail of each pin-sharp sample, crisp-dried digitised snare hit and squelching bass drop invokes an industrial electro edge to the likes of ‘Threats’ and ‘Terminal Ground’, as Campbell’s soul-via-punk vocal delivery brings to mind nothing less than the natural charisma of Prince and David Bowie.

Former Things boldly updates the forgotten sonics of 1980s art-pop, and LoneLady shows exactly how to make them sound brand new again.