Diana Vickers is only going to let you kill her Once (Once, Once, Once Yeah)

Diana Vickers was on the X-Factor a while ago and sang some songs in a funny voice and did this weird thing with her hand quite a lot. But beneath the indie-girl affectations lay a talent and certain offbeat style (offbeat in a way that was totallly digestable by record-buying, tv-watching public and mainstream media alike but offbeat nonetheless) that was largely undeniable and oozed with potential for a future in pop (despite an unfortunate camaraderie with one Eoghan Quigg). And sure enough, as soon as she was released from The X-Factor's contractual obligations (which include a tour and mugging old ladies for the amusment of Simon Cowell, I believe) she began work on proper, actual, factual solo material. Much time passed with few updates aside from the odd tweet and reassurances that Diana was working with some 'really great' people, which I suspected meant she'd show up as a featured artist on some thundering dance choon by a random Danish hardcore house band called Sweet Mouse X (or something). Turns out she was actually working with songwriting supremo Cathy Dennis (of Jentina fame) among others, and now we have a lovely little ditty called Once to show for our patience (and, to a lesser extent, Cathy and Diana's hardwork). Press Play on the beep...BEEP.



It's quite the little ditty with a mixture of mechanical blips, bleeps and beats alongside more organic guitar and piano elements and it has something of a Lykke Li's A Little Bit about it (edit: not at all). The verses are coy and filled with that trademark Vickers' sloppy diction and toffee-welding-her-teeth-together phrasing (at 0.36 I'm fairly sure she coos 'A hey ho lined fate', in other words, she's saying what we're all thinking). The highlight is quite clearly the soaring, brilliantly simple and yet undeniably catchy chorus. The middle eight should be more amazing and less 'Just get to the chorus, love' but it does the trick and overall the whole song feels like a breath of fresh air, satisfyingly moreish and just little bit quirky. The Voice is going to be devisive and the promo shot in which she has extreme bedhead (and sheets) suggest that there might be some obnoxious styling/artwork/video to come, which, in reality, is bound to win over more people as it turns off (the critics will just shout louder). But the fact is, Vickers won the nation's heart on X-Factor (until the semi-final anyway) and that's sure to translate into record sales (worked for Leon Whatsit didn't it?). Love or loathe her, this is a top-notch pop tune that makes for a pretty strong debut and as Simon Cowell would say, she sounds 'revelant' (not that one really trusts Mr. Cowell's views on revelance in pop music these days, he did, afterall, deem Don't Stop Believin' as fairly unknown). Is Diana distinct enough to stand out on a pop music landscape full of Ellies, Marinas, Florences etc.? Yes, certainly enough so that we should get at least one 6/10-or-better album out of her, and isn't that what pop dreams are made of?

Wake up in the morning feeling like a heavily auto-tuned Avril crossed with Katy by way of a lary teenager, which is understandable really...

Tik Tok, Kesha's Top 5 debut, feels like an auto-tuned anthem for the Clare's Accessories brigade to chant as the shimmy down their drainpipes and totter off to house parties where they'll no doubt ending up sicking up after a thimble of vodka and an un-inhaled cigarette. Still, sometimes a song comes with such attitude, such ridiculous lyrics and such accessibility that you can't help but sing along when they come on at a party or in a club, like a football chant for pop fans, something you and your friends can ironically scream en masse on the dance floor. That's pretty much Kesha's, and indeed Animal's, appeal, it's lowbrow, dancey, dumb but fun, trashy pop, pretension free and bursting with (often too much) energy with nary a trace depth. That will either be a draw or a turn-off depending on how you like your pop, if it's nuance, subtly, refinement or insight you're after, then you need not apply. If you're after an album chock full of alcopop-laden party tunes to blare while getting ready for a night out, then you'll be hard-pressed to find an album more suited to such requirements.

Your Love is my Drug is an 80s flavoured bit of punchy pop with a distinct whiff of Katy Perry about its soaring chorus and on overwhelming pong of Tik Tok about the verses, the lyrics are exactly as you'd imagine they'd be from the title but you've got to admire the sledge-hammer subtlety of the term 'lovesick crackhead' . Take it Off is a crunching, synthy, shimmery pop take on house, a standard issue party stomper but with a sedate 'Rapture'-esque vibe. Backstabber has a drum and bass feel to its more restrained verses that act as a nice appetiser for yet another successfully hooky chorus. Meanwhile, despite not being one of the handful of Dr. Luke productions on Animal, Party at a Rich Dude's House still feels like something the Swedish hit-maker would offer up, with its non-threatening rock guitars and 'Girls Unite' power-pop chorus. Dubious moments include the sparse, overly simplistic ands sugary Stephen; Blah, Blah Blah, featuring 3OH!3, which boasts a decent chorus feels as though these exponents of chant-along pop are on auto-pilot for the whole song; and Dinasour, a thumping, clanging, cacophony of rapping, shredding and stammering beats which is predictably about pervy old men. If Daphne and Celeste were still around (having survived several onstage bottlings presumably) this is the type of dreck they'd have too much cred to release.

And though you may come for the dance floor filler you might stay for quieter moments, and Lord knows there'd have to be some, just to give the next door neighbours and their wagging fingers a break from 'that racket'. Unsurprisingly the song entitled Hungover is the introspective respite from the debauch madness that has come before as The Fear sets in the morning after the night before, it has the feel of a vintage Lavigne ballad. Dancing With Tears in My Eyes follows the same blueprint but its tempo and beat give a little more wiggle room for a boogying (preferably while crying) and Blind is something of power-mid-tempo if such a thing exists. But Animal is best of all the breather moments, it's a big arms akimbo, sweeping anthem with ethereal verses and a crowd-pleasing chorus and you know, some singing.

And there you have it, completely daft and largely unoriginal but there's more than a handful of gems to be found here and there's a touch more variety than you may have thought. Just as Tik Tok housed a great chorus that rivals Just Dance for its instantaneous night-out-readiness there's often flashes of great pop among the trite lyrics, heavy vocoder and vocal affectations. Sure, much of it feels cribbed from Avril and Perry before her and it's not going to be the most enduring pop debut of all time but something tells me Kesha is probably a lot smarter than her music lets on. This brash, in your face and shallow pop is saleable and just might be her way of making an impression before she starts displaying more musical depth, something she only flirts causally with here. Of course she might just genuinely be a boozed-up bint but armed with the right producers she can definitely make music for other boozed-up bints to dance to!