Review - Little Boots - Nocturnes

After the four years it took for Little Boots, AKA Victoria Hesketh, to release her second album, I really thought it was going to be rather…dull, I’ll say. She decided to go the independent route this time, which all but ensure a less commercially successful endeavor: her first album reached #5 on the UK charts; this new album debuted at #45. In addition to that, the marketing on this has been a mess. Singles from ‘Nocturnes’ have been slowly trickling out for two years, which means that any publicity that a track brought in was lost when there was no album to quickly follow.

Thankfully, Little Boots keeps to what made her a star in the first place: her unique songwriting and performance style. What this album lacks in powerful production (last time around provided by the likes of pop heavyweights RedOne and Greg Kurstin) it more than makes up for with LB’s signature personality.

‘Nocturnes’ is noticeably toned-down from ‘Hands’, but that doesn’t mean you’re not going to be grooving along. “Shake” was one of the first bits anyone heard from this album, and it still gets me. The volume may not be loud, but that beat and the minimalist vocals kill it. Boots also explores more retro themes on this record, looking into the 90’s for inspiration overtly (“Every Night I Say A Prayer”) and in less in-your-face ways (“Confusion”).

Victoria also finds new ways of getting her alt-pop message across in songs like “Motorway” and “Broken Record”. These songs have no place in the pop mainstream, but then again, her first hits didn’t really either. Little Boots has always been a bit off what is popular, but her music still has a mass appeal that surprises you. While ‘Nocturnes’ may not be the follow up that radio and her labels were looking for, it is sure to excite true Little Boots fans.

Listen to: “Motorway”, “Broken Record”, “Shake”, “Every Night I Say A Prayer”, “Crescendo”

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