Sia - Some People Have Real Problems

Her live show at Night & Day towards the end of 2007 showed that Sia is a very singular artist, and isn't afraid to defy conventions or expectations to go wherever she feels is musically right. Anyone who went to see her on the back of some sultry vocals on Zero 7 albums or because of the use of the beautiful Breathe Me at the end of Six Feet Under would have been stunned to see her come on stage dressed as a psychedelic skeleton, backed by a similarly bizarre-looking band. She also slightly scuppered the release of this new album - her third - by directing fans to an Eastern European site where it could be downloaded for free, months ahead of it actually coming out. Given the strangeness of all of this, it's no surprise really to find that Some People Have Real Problems is a quirky album and is a world away from the more electronic and downbeat Colour The Small One. The best example is the sad-sounding The Girl That You Lost To Cocaine, which is actually one of the jauntiest tracks on here, and while she's hardly gone 'pop', Sia has certainly got a broader musical palette here. Beck features on thhe wonderful Academia, while recent single Day Too Soon is amongst the best songs she's ever done. Her uniquely soulful voice shines through here, whether as a whisper on I Go To Sleep or sounding more powerful elsewhere, and some of the highlights from her tour are just as good on record, notably opening duo Little Black Sandals and Lentil. Sia certainly has the potential to be a lot bigger over here than she currently is, but sometimes you wonder if she is a little too quirky for her own good. Who else would put their catchiest single - and YouTube smash hit - Buttons as a hidden track on their album instead of making it one of the most obvious selling points? It's a strange decision, but at least it's on here because it's a great song and even if it is not in the tracklisting, it still adds to what is clearly Sia's best album yet.

Tom Baxter - Skybound

Fans of Tom Baxter have had to wait quite a while for this follow-up to Feather And Stone, which came out in 2004. The songs on Skybound were recorded in December 2006 and it was originally scheduled to be released in October 2007, but instead is creeping out in January 2008, with very little fuss made of it so far. Mind you, just after the madness of Christmas and New Year, with Slade and Wizzard still stuck in our brains, maybe his mellow and slightly funky take on folk music is what we need to cleanse our palettes and get us ready for another year. Certainly Skybound doesn't blow any cobwebs away, with strings swirling around in the background and Baxter's voice hardly grabbing you by the throat and demanding that you listen to what he has to say. The loose theme of the album is kind of autobiographical, with song titles like The Last Shot, Light Me Up, Half a Man and Icarus Wings all following a thread about growing up from a boy to being a man, but it has to be said that expecing some dramatic insight into the human condition would be hoping for a bit too much. But musically, when it works, it works very well indeed, with the title track building up to something quite grandiose and impressive over its six and a half minute runtime, while single Better is a delightful little love song, again adorned with wonderful strings. You could certainly imagine it being played over the top of a romantic final scene in an American teen drama, so it's just a shame that Baxter missed out on The OC. However, what sets Skybound apart from his previous work is that it is notably less obviously slushy and the jazzier touches ally him more to Van Morrison than James Blunt or Paolo Nutini, which is the kind of market he seemed to be aimed at when he was first foisted onto Radio 2. He's nowhere near the standard of Morrison though, with the one-paced nature of this album weighing heavily after a few tracks, while his vocals rarely move beyond a mumble, but still there is a lot to enjoy here if you are prepared to give it a chance, as Baxter is a very subtle and impressive songwriter.