Fleur East // Sax

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You might be familiar with the name but you probably already know the song given that it’s currently doing the rounds on TV thanks to Asda. Yes 2014 X Factor finalist Fleur has released her single in the form of Sax

It falls into the same section of what we’ve been hearing a lot of on the radio recently: bringing sounds from the 60s – 80s and giving them a wee bit of a modern twist. The one thing that we feel lets this song down is it’s verses that seem to lack a wee bit of imagination. But the chorus & instrumental breaks work well with a bridge that has a wee bit of an Opps Up Side Your Head feel to it

It no doubt will have folk having a wee boogie along to it. The question is, is it too much like Uptown Funk for people to get into? Or will they be tired of it quickly because of its round on the Asda advert (as it is probably going to be on for the next weeks at least!) Time will tell but it will be interesting to see what else she has to offer on her upcoming album, Love, Sax & Flashbacks

Rating: 4/5

Adele // Hello

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Hello it’s me is probably not the opening line that you would expect from a song but then it seems very fitting that the opening line is from the newest single from Adele, last seen with the rather successful Bond theme, Skyfall.

It’s a beautiful piano led ballad that we all know that she can deliver without much effort. The verses have a soft tender feeling while the rousing chorus provide us a chance to really hear that powerful voice in full flow. There is a danger that this could have been over produced, could have been ruined but fortunately everything seems to be in balance here just allowing Adele’s vocals to tell the story.

It’s great to welcome Adele back the to the charts and we’re sure that this will be around for a while. And if this is just the first offering from the album, we wonder what else could be instore

Rating: 5/5

Enya // Echoes In Rain

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It’s hard to believe that it’s been 7 years since Enya’s last single was released. But now in 2015, she’s back with her first offering from the up coming album, Dark Sky Island in the form of Echoes In Rain.

There is only one thing that we can say: it’s Enya through and through. She’s never been one to over complicate a track and that continues even here, after all, why would you change something that’s worked all these years? The only thing that we think will maybe get to people is how often the alleluia section of the song is repeated.

We think that the album will probably do well (we expect it to go to number 1 week of release) but it a welcome come back for the singer.

Rating: 4/5

Sandi Thom // Earthquake

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It’s been 2 years since we’ve had anything from singer songwriter Sandi Thom (in the form of The Covers Collection, it’s 3 years since an album of own material, Flesh & Blood) but now she’s revealed the first track from the forthcoming album, Weapons of Past Destruction (set for release in 2016) and it comes in the form of Earthquake.

The song sees a return to a pop sound, rather than the blues sound that we’ve heard in recent years from her. Although a song of personal experience, it is also one that will probably resonate with listeners with the theme of having your world shattered and you’re left to pick up the pieces.

Is this return to her pop roots a good thing? Time will only tell but giving but given the recent trend for a sound of yesteryear, it will be interesting to see what the rest of the album sounds like.

Rating: 4/5

Sam Smith // Writing's On The Wall

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Pre-order @ Amazon.co.uk (Single) | Pre-order @ official Store (Single)
Pre-order @ Official Store (7”)

We suppose that it's one of those honours for a musician, asked to perform the theme song for the latest instalment of the Bond franchise. It was always going to be a challenge for whoever took on that after Adele's offering last time.

And that is what Sam Smith's Writing's On The Wall is up against. And sadly for us, there's just something not right with the track. The orchestration at the start & throughout has all the markings of Bond anthem but sadly it is Smith's vocals in the chorus with just a tad more falsetto than we feel is needed here (and at times, seems that it is may be at the limits of his range)

We can see it doing the rounds but we can't help think that this might be one track that we'll hear constantly for the next few days and hoping that like a spectre, it will disappear...

Rating: 2/5

Rachel Platten // Fight Song

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The name Rachel Platten may not be familiar to you but apparently she has contributed tracks to the TV show Pretty Little Liars but this is our first outing with her.

Fight Song probably come in as a little anthematic and a little biographically. But even putting that aside, the track itself will no doubt speak to people out there particularly the chorus (This is my fight song / Take back my life song / Prove I’m alright song / My Power’s turned on / Starting right now I’ll be strong / I'll play my fight song / And I don't really care if nobody else believes / Cause I've still got a lot of fight left in me). It’s sort of shelved between P!ink’s F***** Perfect and Kelly Clarkson’s Stronger

A great little song that hopefully might be the small boat in the song that sends big waves across the ocean.

Rating: 5/5

Foxes // Body Talk

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It’s been a while since we’ve heard anything from the Southampton singer, but now she’s gearing up for the release of her second album by debuting the single, Body Talk.

To be honest, there’s not much here that hasn’t been heard previously from her but yet there is still enough to make it different as we see a small move into a more pop sound (disco/80s seems to be in this year…wonder if she took a trip on the TARDIS to be inspired by this). There just feels to be this There’s just the right change as to show that she’s not a one style pony yet not forget the sound that brought her to the attention on the public.

It will be interesting to see what the rest of the album will sound like if this is anything to go by (although, is it wrong we’d secretly like to see her version of Queen’s Don’t Stop Me Now making an appearance?)

Rating: 4/5

O-Town // Skydive

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If the name looks familiar then you probably remember them from the early 2000’s from when they featured on the reality TV show Making The Band and the following single Liquid Dreams & All or Nothing. Well after a decade away, they’re making a return as a quartet with their latest single, Skydive.

It lulls you into a false sense at the beginning that it’s going to be a slow love dovey ballad, but it’s when it reaches the chorus that it really comes into it’s own. It’s loud, it’s proud and it’s not afraid to show it. Compare it to where they where ten years ago and you can hear how much that they have matured since then. Whilst it is similar to what we hear already in the charts, there is still enough that allows the guys a space alongside.

Rating: 4/5

Little Mix // Black Magic

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It’s been over a year since the last release from the UK girl group Little Mix. So they’re hoping to bewitch the charts with the lead single from their upcoming 3rd album.

Black Magic isn’t the usual sound you’d expect from the girls. It has Cyndi Lauper Girls Just Wanna Have Fun with a bit of a B*Witched thrown in for good measure. Our only annoyance with the track is the open lines that are repeated at various points through the song (All the girls on the block knocking on my door/ Wanna know what it is make the boys want more) which don’t seem to fit…well at least as an opening!

It’s likely to be a hit over the summer and will be interesting to hear what the remixes sound like too.

Rating: 4/5

Leona Lewis // Fire Under My Feet

 
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Has it really been nearly two years since we heard anything from Miss Lewis? Apparently so (her last release being the collection of Christmas tracks). We won’t lie and say that we never know what to expect from Leona, but given that she’s jumped record labels in the time that she’s been away,she’s now ready to show what she’s got on offer from her forthcoming album, I Am.

Fire Under My Feet is the first single to be lifted from the album. It’s does have a very familiar sound to Adele’s Rolling in The Deep but for Leona, it does feel very minimal compared to some of the other releases. This feels a bit more of what we’ve been wanting to hear from Leona instead of the route that she had headed down (although the Christmas album did feel quite suitable for her).

It’s an interesting sound for a comeback for her and will be interesting to see how people react chart wise. It also raises questions on what the rest of the album will sound like too.

Rating: 4/5

Ed Sheeran // Bloodstream feat. Rudimental

 
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The 4th single to be lifted from the highly successful X album from Ed Sheeran isn’t exactly the version that folks will be familiar with. No, for the single release Ed’s team up with Rudimental to give it more of a dance track.

Thanks not to say that it’s completely different. In fact, in our opinion, we think this mix by Rudimental brings something to this track that makes it more suitable as a radio follow up to Thinking Out Loud but also adds something to what was already an interesting track in the first place on the album. Even after a couple of weeks, we’re still loving this and the album version. Both have their time and place.

Rating: 4/5

Callaghan // A History Of Now

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Download @ iTunes | Buy @ Official Site (CD + Download)

It’s been three years since we last had an album release from Callaghan and now we get presented with her latest offering in the form of A History Of Now.

Opening with a bright & breezy number that is Crazy Beautiful Life it only take one track to get us back to more tenderness in the form of Who Would I Be. Noah’s Song is another bright track & it should be given that it was written for her nephew! I’ll Take You Away could in some instances be seen as a slower continuation of a track that we’ve just heard.

The 2015 updated version of her track Best Year is up next (see our review here) before we slow things down with the beautiful Lost (which we’re not going to lie, we first thought it might have been a cover of Birds Of A Feather opening theme….sorry Callaghan!) Green Eyes comes up next followed by another little bouncy number in Free To Be that we’re sure you’ll be tapping your feet along to (if not swaying too!)

Guitar driven When You Loved Me brings the mood down for a slow and tender number with Parachute continuing this feeling. Last Song which ultimately is actually second last is another tap along track with We Don’t Have To Change The World another bright track (that has us thinking of an Errol Brown’s cover of TLC’s Unpretty)

A History of Now just feels like catching up with an old friend in that it seems to start off where her debut album, Life In Full Colour left off. There a mix of tracks that show off Callaghan’s song writing and vocal skills. And  talking about the tracks, there are a number of them that we could see fitting in on TV shows with ease! Callaghan might not yet be a household name, but with a sound that will appeal to folks of all ages, she should be!

Rating: 5/5

Lawson // Roads

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It’s hard to believe that it’s nearly been 2 years since these guys last released anything. But now Lawson are ready to return to the music scene, bringing Roads as the first single from their follow up album to the great debut that was Chapman Square.

Roads reminds us a little bit of Train but at the same time, as if they’ve taken the best bits of their previous singles and blended them together. It doesn’t always work however and the verses seem to lack something that suddenly appears in the chorus. Don’t get us wrong, we can still see this being a great little summer tune and likely to get fans singing along at gigs.

They are coming up with the ‘difficult’ second album…is this a hint at what’s to come or just trying something different? Only time will tell but we’ll be keeping an eye out for the album

Rating: 3.5/5

Film Review: Heavenly Sword

Back in 2007, the PS3 launched with a number of titles ready to go, one of them being Heavenly Sword. Spring forward 7 years and now it has been turned into a movie…of sorts.

In honesty, this is not the Heavenly Sword that was on the PS3. The story this time focuses of Nariko delivering the sword to their brother Loki, the fabled chosen one. It does appear as if some of the cut scenes from the original game (episodes available explaining the history are included in the story, with some additions to make them viable to this new story). For fans of the game, the familiar characters are here: Nariko, Kai, Bohan, Whiplash, Roach & the Flying Fox, but the story in it’s new form makes it even alien for those who know the game.Anna Torv is the only returning voice actor from original game to reprise her role as Nariko. Andy Serkis has been replaced as the voice of King Bohan by Alfred Molina.

This was apparently originally pitched as a live action series to Syfy and in some instances, it is had gone through, this might have been a better idea. It feels rushed, disjointed with no obviously flow between certain parts almost in desperation to get to the final fight sequence (which was already stunning in the original game). The ending to this hints more at a ‘could there be a sequel’ more so that the game. IF they were to go for it, then there is a chance that is would turn out better than this given they would be constructing a whole new story.

If you had the choice of watching this and playing the game, we’d have to opt with playing the game.

Rating: 2/5

Symphobia // Noc-Turn

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Buy @ YesAsia (US) | Download @ iTunes Japan

The album opens with the last single, We Are (Feat. Daniel Dice) with a slight addition to the orchestra tune up at the start of the track and additional vocals over this. This is quickly followed by second single, I Do and Rachmaninov. Lightening the mood is the debut single Brand New Day before things are slowed down with the lovely Hungry.

Dark & loud are on the agenda with the track Total Eclipse, again featuring Daniel Dice before we’re back to light & airy with the track I Need Air. Just as quick it’s back to the loud & brash with Play, who’s classical piece (Chopin’s Nocturne) we can’t help feeling has been twisted & distorted into something sinister. 3rd single, What’s Done Is Done is next (see that review here)

We’re not entirely sure what to make of Trigger while SupahFreakinMarvelous & Prove Me brings us back to a more accessible sound. Victory once again features Jade sharing vocals (last heard on What’s Done Is Done) and if we’re honest, we would have swapped this and the final track, Still Standing, featuring Marinoux, again, who featured on What’s Done Is Done, around as Victory has more of a final feeling.

Overall, we’d really like to like this album but we’re struggling to get behind it and we think it comes down to few points: the first is that the majority of the tracks rely heavily on classical pieces and feel that there is just an overload here. The second is that the tracks have too much of a familiarity to each other. Hungry seems a little out of place on the album and we’d love to have seen a few more original tracks like What’s Done is Done just to break the album up a bit more. The third point is simply this: we can’t view this as an album. For us, when listening to tracks mixed with others from other genres altogether, individually, the tracks aren’t that bad. But viewing them together, is when we have issues.

But it’s not all bad. We love Adeesha vocals and think that the duets works well, particularly with Jade & Marinoux as we’ve said previously.While we get a small look at what Adeesha is capable of, it would be interesting to see her step outside of what seems to be a comfort zone as we suspect that there is more to come. There is however a danger of just becoming another voice in the crowd so to speak in doing so. For that reason, we’re going to sit on the fence just now.

Rating: 3/5

Film Review: The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Welcome back to the Marigold Hotel! Well actually, we don’t start there. We start in California as Sonny (Dev Patel) and Muriel Donnelly (Maggie Smith) heading to look for investment in Sonny plans to buy a new property & expand his hotel empire. Meanwhile back in Jaipur, our familiar residents appear to be settling in just fine: Evenlyn (Judi Dench) is a fabric sourcer for a company, Douglas (Bill Nighy) is a ‘tour’ guide, Norman & Madge (Ronald Pickup & Celia Imrie) are managing the The Viceroy Club & Carol (Diana Hardcastle) is in the travel agency

And here in lies the problem: Once you’ve been re-introduced, the film seems slow and, in some points, a little dragged out, not the haphazardness of the first one that kept the pace. There are still the laughs though it feels not in as much quantity of the first. The return of Jean (Penelope Wilton) halfway through the film, looking for a divorce from Nighy’s character Night, feels awkward and almost disjointed leaving you feel that there is either a)something missing or b)just an excuse to bring back this particular character. In some instances, if it had only been Douglas’ daughter Laura (played by Claire Price) & not Jean, it may have worked better.

Joining the cast this time around is Guy (Richard Gere) and Lavina Beech (Tamsin Greig) as the newest residents at the Marigold Hotel…but what are they really here for? Thankfully the film divides it time equally between the different characters and their lives rather than sorely being focused on just a few.

 

 

Was a sequel needed? Probably not as the first did finish on a nice little note and left you wondering what did happen next but felt complete. This one however we feel does leave a few unanswered questions and loose ends. As much as we love our friends at the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, we are hoping that the plan is to leave things are they are here. There is a danger of ruining a good thing here is a three-qual was to be made. Maybe it’s time we checked out and allowed them to get on with their lives.

Markus Feehily // Love Is A Drug

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The name might not be familiar to you, but if we were to say drop the u and s from Markus and you’d have a former Westlifer. However, forget what you thought about him and see where he is now, with his debut solo single, Love Is A Drug

We’ll be honest and say that this was not the track that we were expecting, given the route other former members have gone down. This is at the other end of the scale yet feels honest and with a sound that we’re pleasantly surprised to say suits him. The song itself is something that we see fitting in with the musical landscape as it is at the moment.

Well worth taking a punt on and will be interesting to see where he goes from here

Rating: 4/5

Carly Rae Jepsen // I Really Like You

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It’s been 3 years since we last heard from the Canadian export, but now she’s back with her latest single I Really Like You.

The track itself feels as if it belongs to the 80s with it sound but at the same time there, there is a feeling of familiarity as hints of her debut single Call Me Maybe. Maybe that’s a good thing here given the time that passed since we’ve last heard from her. The only draw back we can see is listeners being annoyed by the constant repetition of really in the chorus (there’s a lot in there).

Rating: 3/5

Cascada // Reason

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It’s been a far wee while since we’ve heard anything from Cascada, but now they’re back with their latest single, Reason.

From what we can gather, this song was originally released under the alias of Diamond in 2004 but has been given a reworking for the 2015 release under the Cascada name. Knowing this explains why it does sound very much like the early Cascada releases. It is interesting to see them returning to a old sound, but maybe they’re needing to go back to the start to discover where they might have been going wrong

Rating: 3/5

Ellie Goulding // Love Me Like You Do

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It’s already been named as the fastest selling single of 2015 in the UK (for the moment, anyway) but Ellie Goulding makes a return to the chart with a little number lifted from the forthcoming Fifty Shades of Grey.

There’s almost a beautiful contrast to the song with Goulding’s almost innocent sounding vocals paired with the lyrics having more of an inkling to the film and of course book that it’s taken from. Our one grips with the track though is how similar it’s sounding in comparison to past single releases so in that way, we don’t hear anything that we haven’t heard before, yet we find ourselves enjoying the track.

Anyways…Mr Grey will see you now

Rating: 4/5

Callaghan // Best Year 2015

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We’ve been fans of Callghan here for a while and is soon to release a new album, A History of Now. The first release from it isn’t a new track but an update to a release from 2012.

We not going to lie that the 2012 release is still a favourite (see our original review here) but this updated sound seems to fit better with the sound of the upcoming album, based on what we’ve heard over on Callaghan’s site. And we guess a track that been with her for 4 years does deserve an makeover. Here’s hoping  that 2015 is the ‘best year’ for her.

Rating: 4/5

Selena Gomez // The Heart Wants What It Wants

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It’s been a while since we last came across Selena Gomez but this release, taken from her forthcoming best of, For You did catch our attention.

It’s a raw & emotional track all about falling in love with the wrong person, knowing that but being unable to do anything about it as after all, as the title says, the heart wants what it wants. Our only gripe with the track is that of the chorus with the long drawn out want of the chorus. It does just feel to us that it detracts from the heart felt emotion of the verses & bridge and that there was nothing else that they felt could fit here.

A shame just one thing detracts from what is otherwise a great little number.

Rating: 4/5

Kelly Clarkson // Heartbeat Song

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It’s been a few years since we’ve heard from Kelly Clarkson, but to be fair, in between, she’s got married and had a child so you can forgive. However, she’s back with a new track taken from her forthcoming album, Piece By Piece.

We think that maybe the song should be in the emergency room. With symptoms such as feeling numb, pins & needles on her tongue and a rising temperature, the verses of Heartbeat Song sound as if they’re a beat in atrial fibrillation (that, is racing) while the chorus is in sinus rhythm (that is, normal pace). It’s a nice change to hear from her, in comparison to some previous released singles.

Surely a top 10 for Miss Clarkson as radio listeners & streamers sing along with the infectious chorus…Will be interesting to see what else she’s going to offer on her forthcoming release.

Rating: 4/5

Meghan Trainor // Lips Are Movin

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Meghan Trainor made chart history last October when her song All About That Bass made it into the UK charts purely on airplay alone. Her follow up comes in the form of  Lips Are Movin.

Just as with the last, the latest offering has a theme and this time it the boyfriend cheating. Sadly for us, we’re hot hearing anything here that we didn’t hear with All About That Bass and feels a bit like a re-hash of it. And then you think back to Christmas when that lovely track I’ll Be Home popped up.

It’s a shame that such a similar song has been chosen next when we’re pretty sure that there’s more to Meghan than we’ve heard at present.

Rating: 2/5

Various Artists // The Lion King Legacy Collection

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Download @ iTunes

Celebrating the 20th anniversary (has it really been 20 years already?) and the first in the new Legacy Collection, is the 1994 film The Lion King. Split across 2 discs this is probably as close to a complete soundtrack as we are going to get (when you compare it to the original & the special edition).

Disc 1 is essentially the film with familiar vocal tracks of Circle of Life, Just Can’t Wait To Be King etc. all here but interspaced with Hans Zimmer’s score which beautifully accompanied the film but that we didn’t, in parts, really get to appreciate at the time. Disc 2 contains demo tracks of score segments, two songs omitted from the original film (The Morning Report, which later made an appearance in the re-release and of course, in the stage version of the show and Warthog Rhapsody, the song that Hakuna Matata replaced), an instrumental version of Circle Of Life and of course, Elton John’s versions of Circle of Life, Just Can’t Wait To Be King & Can You Feel The Love Tonight.

As we said, this is probably as close to a complete soundtrack as we’re going to get. It’s a big improvement on the original release as well as the re-release special edition. But who will it apply to? That is the question. For us we could see those who grew up with the film originally or those that have an interest in the lesser heard score. We love the idea of having the score and vocal tracks mixed meaning, in essence and assuming you know the film well enough, you could just stick this on, close your eyes and you’d be there in the film. Now…why can’t all soundtracks be like this?

Rating: 4/5

Alex Cornish // Beyond The Serenade

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Download @ iTunes

It’s been 3 years since we’ve had an album from Alex Cornish (we had a little release in the Play Your Part EP back in 2013) but now he’s back with album no. 4, Beyond The Serenade

Opening track, Footnotes on the Page opens softly but as if progresses it builds to a crescendo before heading back down to close just as softly as it opened. Easy going verses and attention demanding choruses & bridges make up the DNA of First & Last. Everywhere I Go again seems to use building blocks, introducing each instrument on a new layer before reaching a crashing chorus and then going uphill from there (for some reason we're imaging a crazy car tour for a video...)

Work the Fields uses the first minute & a half as an instrumental, layering the instruments which, for us, conjures images of busy city life before Cornish's smooth vocals come in with piano, with a reminder of that busy feeling kept by the quick intermittent beat, before giving way to rising strings and a calmer, gentler feel of getting away from it all.

Something a bit calmer and sedate in the form of Downstream with a similar theme continuing in How I'm Meant To Be. A bit of sombreness creeps into the album in the form of I'll Never Learn. The Pine & The Birch brings a little rock to the proceedings and took us by a bit of a surprised when we first heard it on a well known streaming service but after that initial entrance, it's not too far from what we know of Alex's work. After that wake up call, things are taken down for a bit with Drives Me On.

We're not entirely sure if Cornish is channelling his inner Billy Joel with a piano driven track Again & Again that reminds us a little of Always A Woman & The Piano Man but this gives way to Give Me Time, a track similar in style to Everywhere I Go in terms of how it's built, from gentle to a demanding roar. Closing the album is Nothing In Return which a song of two half, the first with vocals while the second is an instrumental with some interesting sounds at the end of it.

For fans, there is a little bit of everything from Alex's past releases as well but at the same time, it feels as if he's experimenting without deviating from what he knows works. This would be the album that we'd recommend for anyone not familiar with Alex's previous releases...and it makes for a good show live too!

Rating: 4/5

Symphobia // What’s Done Is Done

 
Download @ iTunes Japan

You may not have heard of Symphobia but they came to our attention in the closing months of 2014. It is the latest project from producer Geo with singer Adeesha taking on vocals. The first 2 singles (Brand New Day & I Do, I Do, I Do) never really caught our attention, but the latest one, What's Done is Done perked our interest.

Compared to the past two singles, which were based on classical themes, this is a completely original track. Joining Adeesha on vocals are Jade Valerie (who has worked with Geo previously) and Marinoux. All three vocals work well with two distinct styles, Adeesha's hip-hop/rnb while Jade & Marinoux bring more of a pop feel to it. Add to that Marinoux also sings in French, which does come across as a little odd, but yet doesn't seem to distract from the track at all.

One worry we did have, reading the comments, was with Jade featuring, were people jumping on because of her? Time will tell as the album (titled Noc-Turn, slated for a release in February) with the next track (We Are) apparently next up single wise.

Rating: 4/5