Squick

If immaculately produced electro-funk is your bag (and everyone should be partial to a bit), Dublin’s Meljoann might be right up your alley. The album opener (and single) ‘So Academic’ is a good distillation of what she does – booming bass, washes of 8-bit synth and some delicate, cooing vocals from Meljoann herself. It may be the first example of the Scandinavian invasion of skweee music on Irish shores, a genre characterised by ‘80s electro and drum machines. It’s not quite glacial, just a tad frostbitten. For her part, Meljoann adapts the sound well, coming up with a set of songs that stylistically are approaching some form of wonky R&B. While her voice can seem a little weak, at times getting lost in the mix, and the songs aren’t all quite top drawer just yet, overall it’s an appropriately lush sounding record. Meljoann’s creativity and potential should be encouraged. Any record with short electronic interludes entitled ‘Away From Office Plant’ and ‘Stationary Clip’ demands a spin, anyway.
KEY TRACK: ‘SO ACADEMIC’