Pop Is Not The Enemy: (this should be more) POPular #7

You know that thing when you hear a song and you can't believe it hasn't been a massive hit? Yeah, that...

This week we're featuring a corker of a track from a British artist who had a massive breakthrough in 2009 but the wheels kind of fell off the recent comeback. I feel this was unjust and think this track in particular should be more POPular! This week's featured track is 'Uptight Downtown' by La Roux.

This track was released as the lead single from the sublime sophomore album 'Trouble in Paradise' almost a year ago and it is a barnstormer of pop brilliance. 80's Duran Duran-style beats coupled with Chic-esque guitars up the pop ante giving a real retro feel without feeling outdated and it's really nice to see Elly fronting something with a little bit of funk about it. That familiar falsetto is in effect at the start of the chorus although it's much smoother than we saw in earlier work such as 'In For the Kill'. The filtered vocals in the instrumental section are gorgeous then the chorus crashes back in lodging itself in your head.

Written about the Brixton riots of 2011 Elly made a concerted effort to distance herself from the possible political connotations of using such an event as inspiration and concentrated on the emotional impact of mass protest.

"Streets are lined with people,

People who want to move, move, move.

How can all these people,

Have so much to prove, prove, prove?"

Although critically lauded the single stalled at number 63 in the UK and unfortunately the album couldn't replicate the success of début album 'La Roux'. It's a real shame that it didn't find a larger audience and it has some truly amazing pop moments that more than stand shoulder to shoulder with earlier material, in particular 'Silent Partner', 'Let Me Down Gently' and the brilliantly/awfully titled 'Sexotheque' (that synth line is bloody awesome!).

Sit back and soak up the pop goodness of 'Uptight Downtown'.