Singles + EPs

Single Review: Laura Warwick

[Single: No More]
[Label: Laura Warwick]

2008 has so far been a year of bold experimentation for the music industry. Radiohead kicked the revolution in the arse, Trent Reznor has consistently proven himself the granddaddy of telling record labels to shove it, and now more and more artists are beginning to see a new dawn without the aid of the big wigs in suits. But it’s not just the big names that are reinventing the wheel. Laura Warwick, a completely new name to me and probably to you, has developed an interesting idea that could raise a few eyebrows. Here’s the gist of the scheme – anyone who takes an interest in Warwick’s music or career can buy “shares” in her label at five quid a pop. The more you buy, the more you own and this money goes straight to Laura to pay for recording, touring, PR and many other things to help her career. In return, shareholders get free stuff, and (here’s the biggy) a payout if she makes it big.

It’s an intriguing concept, but given the rumoured disappointing sales of ‘In Rainbows’ and Reznor admitting that his internet projects didn’t show the music fan in the most generous of lights, it is almost definitely a concept that is doomed to fail unless the music is something out of this world.

So, that’s where Warwick’s first single comes in. In her own words ‘No More’ is “about me venting frustration, but at the same time making clear that I’ll never give up” after another failed shot at the big league. It’s a competent blend of funky guitar strums, dotted with trumpets and filled out with the repetitive chord stabs of a keyboard. Warwick’s voice is fairly impressive, getting across a good blend of soulful passion and power, although it does tend to border on Mariah Carey-esque annoyance near the end as she wails away.

The single itself is short and clearly aimed at a pop market, but I can’t help but feel that either of her ideas are set to fail, be it the fairly wacky, over the top jazz funk of the single that I can’t see getting much radio play, or the ambitious but realistically foolhardy attempt at trying to give her fans a pivotal role in her possible career. Essentially, it is her shares idea that interests me more than the song, and considering that music fans, as was proven by Radiohead and Reznor’s mainstream experiments, are mostly a greedy bunch who will take something for nothing if that’s the offer I can’t see it succeeding. But, I’d love to be proven wrong.

For fans of: Amy Winehouse, Joss Stone, James Brown
Band link = Laura Warwick

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