Annie
Live @ Mucha Marcha/Proud Gallery, London, 07/04/08
How times change. Almost three years ago to the day I saw Annie supporting Saint Etienne at the sparsely populated Koko venue. She was swamped by the size of the stage and was aided only by a DJ with decks and effects.
Fast forward three years and it seems Annie is being given a second bite of the pop cherry. She's back and this time she means it. The decadent surroundings of The Proud Gallery provide the fashionista crowd and Annie a feel akin to what I imagine a high school prom would be like. This time around she is complemented with a full band set up, which gives the songs a lot more room to breathe. Forthcoming single, "I know your girlfriend hates me", is transformed into an extended dancefloor filler, with Annie joined by a troupe of female dancers. They don't look too dissimilar to the girls featured Robert Palmer's iconic "Addicted to love" video. At the song's climax lollipops are handed out to the crowd, adding to her sugary sweet appeal. Annie is totally self-assured, a prom queen conducting her band and the crowd with her slightly pervy red gloves. The new songs are a bit of a mixed bag. "My love is better", with its choppy guitars, errs very slightly towards bland territory but "Songs remind me of you" could well be a monster hit in waiting. Starting out as a disco stomper and building up into an enormous four-by-four breakdown, it ticks all the boxes of a club banger. It's not rocket science. Just don't tell that to the heaving masses of gurning, grinning fools partying like it's 1999.
Tonight Annie passed the hipster test, but now she needs to prove she can cross over to the mainstream. Getting Xenomania on board (the production team behind Girls Aloud) signifies her intentions. However, whether she can throw down the gauntlet and challenge Robyn as the queen of Scandi pop is another matter entirely.
- Nick Levine
