Not afraid to plunder the uncool sections of her record collection, New Zealand’s Ladyhawke, aka Pip Brown, has crafted 13 instantly accessible songs on a self-titled debut influenced by synth-pop, new wave and AOR in equal measure. The songwriter and multi-instrumentalist’s album plays like a who’s who of ’80s pop: “Professional Suicide” could be a lost Gary Numan single. The storming chorus of “My Delirium” echoes the power pop of The Bangles. Best of all, “Back Of The Van” is The Pretenders meets Van Halen’s “Jump”.
by Mark Emge
