The Noisettes - 'Wild Young Hearts' (Mercury) Released 20/04/09

If you’ve not heard Noisettes recently, the rock you live under must be pretty large and very quiet. Now you’ve emerged from it, see how much of your day you could go through without hearing ‘Don’t Upset The Rhythm’. I tried. Half an hour I lasted. Yet where that goliath of a pop single came from is a minor mystery. About three years ago Noisettes were an up-start indie band on the verge of big things when they up and left for a big old hibernation of studio time.

Now their return, with second album 'Wild Young Hearts', has been nothing less than meteoric. But listening to the album, with its predominantly jazzy blues cool, it’s still not apparent where ‘Don’t Upset the Rhythm’ came from Don’t get me wrong, it’s a very well crafted album. Songs are simplistic but beautiful little numbers, playing to the strengths of Shingai Shoniwa unique voice that’s simultaneously soft and punchy. And there’s a range of styles she spreads across. There’s the stripped down jazz acoustic numbers, such as ‘Sometimes’ and ‘Wild Young Hearts’, whisper summer chill out to you.

Then there are some lovely crunchy bits of alt rock, such as the grungey ‘Beat of My Heart’, which will have you shaking your thang for sure. Meanwhile, ‘Saturday Night’ is a flag bearer for the electro-disco elements of the album and certainly merits a remix. Yet with the tenderness of the songs, 'Wild Young Hearts' is undoubtedly more Madeleine Peyroux than massive pop outing. Which makes disco-funkery of ‘Don’t Upset The Rhythm’ all the more confusing. Because nothing else on this album sounds even close in terms of composition style or sheer studio polish.

But that’s not a bad thing. Most people buying this album will do so just for that single. What they will get is a great ranging, diverse record that illustrates that Noisettes can be all things to all men. This album is as much chart success as it is Radio 2 in the afternoon with a cup of tea. So prepared to be shocked with this one. Hopefully though like it was for me, it will be a shock in a good way.