Leak and Potato Soup- Records for Spring

It's been a hectic last few days at SP-HQ. I've eaten a massive heap of albums, and worked out what is Hot ad what is Not. Here is a summary of my results, and a rejected review.

HOT- The "I Will Be" Dum Dum Girls Leak; Archie Bronson Outfit's "Coconut"; Tunng's "...And Then We Saw Land"; Frightened Rabbit's "Winter of Mixed Drinks" (lacks depth, has awesome tunes)

NOT- Ellie Goulding's "Lights" (see below)

Ellie Goulding- Lights (Polydor)

As pretty much every critic's pick as the "Next-Big-Thing (TM)"- and a pick I made before you guys- it's hard to approach Lights with any level of neutrality. The album is, all-in-all, a good show- it opens well with Guns and Horses, and stays at a similar level througout. No tracks stand out as Meisterwerken, but neither do any make me want to disguise myself as a wheelie bin and wait for death at the hands of the dustmen (every tuesday, y'all!). The album commits the cardinal sin of being overproduced- when surrounded by Neon Indians and Washed Outs of this world, Lights feels like style over substance. I'm not saying that's a problem- many successful artists have made a career out of this- but Ms. Goulding isn't quite polished, fabulous and Over-The-Top enough to stand proud alongside Lady GaGa and Little Boots, to which she will invariably be compared. If you like your synth-pop glitsy, you'll like this album. If, like me, you'd rather your synthesisers came with LSD and disgusting sodas, don't bother digging it out. Pitchfork seem to think Ellie has another couple of albums in her yet before picking up steam and, you know what? I think they've got a point- the album clearly owes a musical debt to the "Mainstream" without begging for acceptance by it and hence is a bit of a "jack of all trades". Give her some time to pick a direction, and maybe there's a great record in Ellie Goulding yet.