single of the week: rose elinor dougall

After hanging up her polka dots for good earlier this year, Pipettes keyboardist Rose Elinor Dougall embarked on a solo enterprise that quickly piqued the interest of critics who snapped up the news with enthusiasm and intrigue. A flurry of songs appearing online and disappearing almost as fast helped to fan the flames, as did a string of live dates around the country with her all-new musical collaborators, and with her very first single out this week the buzzing curiosity will surely turn into enthusiastic critiquing.

‘Another Version Of Pop Song’ is a whirling, bohemian number, distanced from the disco-friendly pop of The Pipettes, yet retaining that retro-inspired edge that inspired their sound and image. Counting The Silver Apples and Broadcast among her influences, it’s easy to see the roots that have sprouted the gentle yet giddy sweetness on display here. The building layers of acoustic guitar, crashing symbols and rising violins imbue the track with a Spector-esque orchestral magic, while the tambourines, ’60s-style handclaps and dancing electro flute sounds cast the song breezily into the realms of beaming, folk-tinged psychedelia. Singing with a clear, soulful cadence, this solo material allows Rose’s voice to shine independently, expressing a range and freedom that was understandably eclipsed during her time as part of a band.

‘Another Version Of Pop Song’ is a blindingly lovely first single and sets a delightfully high standard for the material to follow. Limited to only 500 copies on 7″ vinyl, and backed with a cleverly titled remix by Chris Rotter, this is worth your pennies. If you’d prefer a digital copy, iTunes has it here.

Rose has a few more lives dates lined up before Christmas. Catch her at the following venues:

11.12.08 The Albert, Brighton
12.12.08 Puregroove Records in-store, London
12.12.08 Barfly, Cardiff
17.12.08 The Cooler, Bristol
18.12.08 Moles, Bath

Written by: Charlotte Richardson Andrews

Tags: another version of pop song, rose elinor dougall, the pipettes

This entry was posted on Monday, December 8th, 2008 at 4:18 am and is filed under reviews, single of the week. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.