Lonelady is one of the newest signings to the Warp Records family, and by all accounts, she is something of a one man (or rather one woman) band! She sings, writes songs, and also plays guitar. The result of which is two tracks ripe for review, and in one case release.

Lonelady’s first recording for Warp was a free download for fans entitled ‘Immaterial’. This track is underpinned by a poppy hook, which is fused with slightly ethereal vocals, a smooth indie guitar arrangement, and strong percussive sounds. Praising this song is easy, as it does have a unique charm, but critique also comes easy too.  Despite the song being very catchy, in a quirky way, the ending could’ve been better, and I would’ve liked to have heard more lyrics in the chorus.

To some extent, what I, or my fellow music fans think of this song is ‘Immaterial’, as for 2010 the focus is now on Lonelady’s single release ‘Intuition’, which she is hoping will make an impact on the charts when it’s released on February 8th. In some ways this track starts off stronger than the first, with a very catchy drum intro, which is swiftly follow by a guitar arrangement, which seems to be on a loop throughout the song. The whole vibe to this song reminds me a little of U2, and Lonelady does manage to unleash a bit of her inner rock chick. I quite enjoyed it, and found myself ‘getting into the groove’, I just wasn’t convinced by the warped sounds that cropped up on several occasions, and couldn’t hear the lyrics very clearly. I like a song where you can hear and relate to the story within the song, and this track, despite it’s musical promise, failed to deliver on that count.

All in all, I think Lonelady is an artist with an interesting mix of ideas, charming percussive sounds, and a promising future as a guitarist. I think her mix of ideas and influences could be more cohesive, and that along with a clearer vocal tone would only serve to strengthen her product.  Both these tracks precede an album release, which will be well worth looking out for next month.

‘Intuition’ is taken from the album ‘Nerve Up’, which is released on Feb 22nd. For more info on Lonelady and her music, visit www. lonelady.co.uk or www.myspace.com/hiholonelady