Posted on 10/26/2009
Being English, I’m ashamed to say I’ve no idea how popular The Wendy Williams Show is stateside. But judging by Noisettes’ singer Shingai Shoniwa's (how sibilant can you get?) endearingly hysterical reaction to being anointed the ‘next big thing’ by Wendy herself, I’d guess it’s rather significant. Their rousing performance of “Never Forget You” seconds before might have started the hype, but there’s enough evidence on Wild Young Hearts to suggest that it’s a tag that Shoniwa and her bandmates can live with fairly comfortably.

The main reason is Shoniwa herself – simply put, she’s a star. She’s got the voice of Dionne Warwick, the attitude of Karen O and the joie de vivre of Lovefoxx. And that trio isn’t a bad approximation for the Noisettes’ sound either. All these elements, combined with her two bandmates’ ability to craft killer pop choruses, make for an enjoyable album that’s so optimistic that the sun shines even if it’s raining. There are still traces of Noisettes’ indie rock roots, but these are generally (and thankfully) smothered in swathes of sweeping strings and flashes of disco and electro beats.

But despite the upbeat mood, for most of Wild Young Hearts it seems that Noisettes can’t decide between wanting to make you dance or cry. And despite the upbeat mood, they’re much better at the latter than the former. “Sometimes” is a delicate, slowburning ballad that’s possibly their best song while “Atticus,” another acoustic guitar lead tearjerker, comes as close as being a worthy tribute to Harper Lee’s novel as it’s possible to get.

After all that, the all-out dancefloor action on “Don’t Upset The Rhythm,” just doesn’t feel quite as satisfying (although the pumping disco finale is quite brilliant) and “Saturday Night” or “Beat Of My Heart” almost completely pass you by. But these particular clouds do come with a silver lining in the form of Shoniwa’s dulcet tones. The power of her voice could rescue almost any song from being mediocre and shows exactly why Noisettes could be very special. She’s really that good.

Especially on the song that got Wendy Williams all excited in the first place: “Never Forget You.” As it opens, you could be forgiven for thinking that you’ve discovered a new Amy Winehouse track (“What you drinking? Rum or whisky”) complete with trademark Mark Ronson guitar licks and lolloping beat. But the warmth, positivity and charm that Shoniwa unleashes (plus the crashing guitar that announces the chorus) provoke a warm fuzzy feeling that will set wild young hearts aflutter at discos across the land.

It’s the sound of a singer and a band announcing themselves as the next best thing. Next best, because although they’ve come a long way since their debut, Noisettes are still a small way from really announcing themselves as a band that have to be taken notice of. “Cheap kicks may be alright” as Wild Young Hearts’ finale suggests, but hopefully there’s much more to come from Noisettes than this.

- Will Georgi