The Daily Star's music guru gets in the poolside party mood thanks to Bebe Rexha's Ibiza-friendly opus, while veteran crooner Barry Manilow brings out the schmaltz and key changes.
Bebe Rexha - Dirty Blonde
A smorgasbord of HiNRG from Bebe Rexha, who is basking in her status as a modern dance music diva on new album Dirty Blonde. A brilliant songwriter, not long ago Bebe was being marketed as the next Adele, but a few features on club hits have transformed her into the go-to club chanteuse. She still possesses more charisma than most, her cutesy vocal delivery working wonders over beats by DJ Snake, Diplo, and Faithless, whose classic Insomnia gets reimagined with lyrics on New Religion.
She is clearly more versatile than these super-charged anthems suggest, but even when she dips into country music on Drink And A Little Love, the temptation is for EDM nonsense to trample all over it. Tokyo offers a few more interesting minimal Asian sounds, while One Day showcases more subdued Giorgio Moroder-ish soundtrack vibes. It is definitely a happy-clappy blonde album, but more of the dirt would not have gone amiss. Daily Star Rating: ***
Barry Manilow - What A Time
One of the world's best-loved crooners, now in his 80s, Barry Manilow can still sprinkle a little showbiz stardust over a tune on What A Time. Sure, the register of his vocals has dropped a tad, but Once Before I Go taps into the easy-listening melodrama of his yesteryears. So too does What A Time, with its massive orchestral finale and satisfyingly obvious key change.
There are a couple of endearing twee moments as well, none perkier than Sunshine, which brings to mind Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head, whereas the groovier Nobody Knows My Song is a late 80s smooth jazz classic. There is nothing over-the-top in a high-kicking-chorus-girl kind of way, but if you are a fan of Barry's earnest delivery, then a classier collection of melodic MOR pop songs you will struggle to find this year. Daily Star Rating: ***
