ELECTRIC DOLLS LOVE ME LONG TIME-World Exclusive

World Exclusive Has Now Gone!
But please go the Electric Dolls Myspace Page and leave some love there!

Electric Dolls and The British Pop Band

A few years ago the worlds most favourite airline British Airways ran a series of very successful adverts where in which an individual was spotted running around landmarks around Britain like he was the last man on earth. Everyone had left the country due to the amazing prices of flights abroad. When you look at the British pop scene you might be forgiven for thinking the same has happened. When I go to other countries like Spain, Germany and Sweden I am left rather bereft when on return to see Girls Aloud & Sugababes pretty much the only girlband doing pop in the U.K.

I feel as if I am running around the U.K screaming, “Where the fuck did classic pop groups go?” The situation has got to such a stage that the 1990’s defunct bands like All Saints, Take That, Scooch and the Spice Girls can make quite reasonable comebacks. Both Digital and Beyond promised so much but vanished without getting to their first single. Electric Dolls on the other hand are a bunch of poptastic girls that simultaneously work on the current simulacrum of music and yet generate a breath of fresh air clearly boldly going where no British girlband has danced before.

Believe me, this is not an article that repeats the diadem of “pop is dead” often found online and in the presses. There are some very exciting things happening in pop at the moment. Nor is it an article that runs into that adage that “pop evolves and changes.” I think pop is out there and, no pop is not back for it never went away, but spirit of Smash Hits and Big! feels ever so close. Why? Because of the band of Electric Dolls- The Brand New Girlband of 2007! The girls recall the energy of the Spice Girls and yet are very 2008.

Let me explain. You know when your primary school did show and tell? Other kids would bring the most amazing of creations and for a long time you’d always be shame-faced when your toy broke because it was too old or wonky. That’s what its been like for a rather long time. Pop fans of Britain have had to get use to places like CdOn, Ebay and Amazon to track down great pop music from far away places as have British record companies and their AnR departments. British based acts have had to cover Danish acts (Jamelia’s Superstar was originally by Christine Milton), Swedish pop icons (Beverley Knight’s biggest radio hit was by Swedish act Robyn) and Kylie Minogue’s fan favourite On A Night Like This was done by the Swede Pandora and then by the Greek Diva Anna Vissi.

We’ve had copy others and yearn for a new act that had the energy of the likes of BwO of Sweden, L5 of France, No Angels of Germany, Scissor Sisters of New York City and Rosa Lopez of Spain. They’ve been quite literally stealing the limelight on the pop ‘show and tell’ table with their anthems, hits and catchy tunes. What did us Brits have to bring to this table? Girls Aloud? Yes, great! But Girls Aloud or the Sugababes are all we’ve had. We can’t keep on bringing the same toys to show n tell. When both bands produced their greatest hits packages last year to me they appeared like warnings. The British can’t depend on these girlbands to always produce the good marks. The recent reunion's of British pop acts is both welcomed but is in fact mighty step backward. Its 2007 not 1997. You don’t see Sweden depending on Ace Of Base to keep their pop flame alight. On the contrary, other countries refuse to rest on the laurels, hits and older acts.

One week, Sweden will give you Annie, the next its Amy Diamond and the follow day its Robyn proceeded by Miss Match, Danny, B-tween and LuckyTwice. Whereas Britain gives the world Lily Allen and her sister Kate Nash, the wonderfully eloquently Isabel Guzman and The Knife weave songs that are devoid of all novelty slang, sing in beautiful English and will zoom up the charts come 2008. For proof, one only has to look at Sweden’s Robyn and Kleerup…

Where did the British pop act go? You know the type of typology of pop I am talking about. Colourful, kitsch, electro, pop, bubblegum, intelligent and slightly novelty yet very catchy and not in the Scooch or Crazy Frog way. Very serious, clearly pop lovers themselves and know a great hook when they make one. At one moment they could be interviewed about Dali on Radio Four while at the same time plugging their 12” inch doll replicas of themselves in Asda and Hamleys.

That new British act has arrived in the form of The Electric Dolls. Returning to the ‘show and tell’ analogy, the Electric Dolls can rival the likes of Miss Match, Robyn, Monrose and Soccx and will impress both the headmaster and music teacher alike. Finally, British pop lovers can plonk a brand new girlband on the table and proudly go ‘ta-dah!’.

Ta-dah!

The girls run rings around Mika, Lily Allen and Amy Winehouse. Their song Plastic Girl has more pop foundation than Kate Nash’s new single that’s for sure. The Electric Dolls web favourite ‘Baps R Bakin’ is so British it doesn’t need to reduce itself to the nail-curling line of “cuz they iz much fittaaaaaaaaah.” These girls are classy, shop at Shhhh in Hoxton and would never ever dream of wearing trainers on the stage when their Jimmy Choo’s makes them feel so good deep inside.

The Electric Dolls are the newest and finest British pop product that pop fans living in Blighty can be proud of….finally! Hooray-I say!

So rejoice and celebrate the magic that is The Electric Dolls!

Details

So who are the Electric Dolls? They consist of Lynsey, Kelly, Sarah, Jenny & Lexy. One of the members was interviewed by DontStopthePop a few months ago in DontStopthePop's mamouth celebration of the girlband (see it here). They say they sound like Gwen/Fergie, a bit of Prince and Madge and thats certainly true...but to only to an extent. There are elements of everything in their material and the song Love Me Long Time is a prime example of this "collective vibrancy" that you'll hear in the Electric Dolls first album when its released. The song begins with Chinese strings that pop hasn't heard since Steps deliberated about that philosophical temporal moment known as "After the Love Has Gone" and it then dips into a hiphop-pop hybrid that evolves into an polemic chant which lasts 3 minutes of pure pop bliss. The song refers to ABBA (Omg!), some kind of "stronger glue" and even includes a demand to "69" one of the girls. It also contains one of the greatest middle 8's heard since Girls Aloud completely updated the section of the song with "The Show". The brilliance about Love Me Long Time is that you can hear influences from other musicians but your also slapped senseless with the unique and rather new sound of the Electric Dolls. Now I am no slapper but I enjoy having my cheeks go red and for this Long Me Long Time is a must for any pop aficionado interested in the future sound of pop.

So, thank you girls for allowing DontStopthePop and its readers this legal download today. I must confess it was ever so difficult to choose which song to pick for I do adore Plastic Girl which you'll all hear on their album (its amazing!). Please check out their myspace site which hosts three other songs including a brand new song called "Giving Me Love". For me, Electric Dolls are in the same category of B-Tween, Simon Curtis, Jay Norton and Isabel Guzman as pop acts that on signing will rip through the charts of 2008. Alongside Clea, Girls Aloud, Spice Girls (again!) and those Sugababes, the Electric Dolls are a welcome and much needed addition to the British girlpop family. So everyone yelp out a little "yay!".

Links

Love Me Long Time (Legal Zshare Download of mp3)
Electric Dolls Myspace
DontStopthePop interview
Electric Dolls Performing Love Me Long Time (YouTube)
Electric Dolls Performing Baps r Backin (Youtube)
Vote the Electric Dolls for President!