Ladyhawke - My Kind Of Bird

Occasionally you hear a song that grabs you by the balls and just keeps on squeezing. The track currently bruising my sack is Ladyhawke's majestic "Back Of The Van". I had fallen head over heels in love with this trashtastic flashback before the end of the first verse. From the opening synths, "Back Of The Van" is a three and a half minute rollercoaster ride back to the 80s. Not particularly original, I hear you saying but the thing that makes Ladyhawke unique is where she derives her sound. Every tart with a synthesizer has ripped off New Order and Depeche Mode but few list Stevie Nicks, Kim Wilde, Pat Benatar and Phil Collins as their major influences! In fact, "Back Of The Van" wouldn't sound out of place on any of Stevie's solo albums. I also hear touches of Heart and Starship thrown in for good measure. I wonder what ever happened to the Wilson sisters and Grace Slick. I worshipped those bitches!

So where did this Ladyhawke chick spring from? Well, Pip (her real name) first appeared on my radar as part of the Sydney based electro duo Teenagers (check out the excellent "Alone Again") but according to her bio she was already an established performer in her native New Zealand. Since going solo, things have really started to snowball for Ladyhawke. She's joined the Modular fold (the label behind The Presets, Cut Copy, Van She and Muscles) for domestic distribution and been snapped up by Universal UK. They are going with a different first single in Europe ("Paris Is Burning" - released on the 30th of June) but I don't like it half as much as "Back Of The Van". Speaking of which, make sure you watch the fabulous video (below). Bonnie Tyler called and she wants her hair back! This gem was released in Australia on Monday exclusively to iTunes. Check out Ladyhawke's Myspace for more details.