Rosie Vanier - 'Black Cats & Black Stars' (Rosie Vanier) Released: 31/10/11

Once the front lady of mildly successful underground troop Rosie and the Goldbug, Rosie Vanier is back and ready to go it alone. Not someone to just stick to doing one thing, her solo sound is a far cry from the indie-tinged pop rock that her and her ex-bandmates concocted together. With Countywide interest, and not just from her fans, publications such as The Independent on Sunday have described her voice as something that, “leaps from sugary pop to operatic whoops, her ivories chiming through a repertoire raging from the turbulent to the serene.”                                     

Now more Lady Gaga than Debbie Harry, Vanier’s no nonsense approach to what appears to be electro-pop is something that UK artists tend not to do so well, but this young lady is only a stones throw away from perfecting it. With everything from her image - she’s definitely easy on the eye, to her song lyrics, Vanier’s newly travelled solo path looks like it might be one that proves more successful than her previous collaborative efforts.                                                                  

Releasing her first EP as a solo artist, ‘Black Cats & Black Stars‘ is a four track taster that will definitely wet the tastebuds of the music tastemakers looking for the next big thing. First single, ‘You Stoled My Guy‘, which according to Vanier is not a typo but instead an ode to a word created when in school, is a middle finger to those contempt with stealing other peoples boyfriends. Dosed up on electro and muffled vocals, the track gives off an almost emo feel to it, similar to perhaps a recent-ish Cobra Starship or Versa Emerge record. Catchy and with huge club appeal, this should be inducted in to the Saturday night getting ready playlist hall of fame, alongside the likes of Katy Perry, Jessie J, and Example, that all girls stereotypically enjoy listening to before a night on the town.                                                                      

Featuring James Chance, ‘Congratulations‘ is by far the EP’s biggest moment. The rapid-fire guitar riff, unorthodox brass break where Vanier asks her good for nothing lover, “Why don’t you just suck my dick?”, and contagious soul clap are insanely addictive. There’s no way to get the song out of your head once you’ve listened to it more than once. The same thing can be said for the chant-tastic ‘False Alarms’, another of the four-track offering’s finer moments. You can’t help but think of either Friendly Fires or The Ting Tings when running the track by your ears. Injecting yet more female dominance in to the industry, Vanier’s swagger is definitely topping 10 on the richter scale with this one.                                                                                                                                          
As far as EP’s go, this might be one of the best this year. If this is the quality of Vanier’s solo material then there’s definitely room for her eccentric musical prowess and originality in today’s industry. Each year there’s usually a female vocalist newbie that storms the UK charts, and 2012’s slot needs to go to Rosie Vanier.