V V Brown reveals new single

And it is...

*drumroll*

"Faith". Well damn, that's my chances for a personally written song blown out of the water - I was rooting for "Ghosts". As a matter of fact, I was a tad disappointed with the choice as in my opinion, "Faith" is the weakest track on her otherwise spectacular Samson & Delilah album, even feeling slightly like a filler.

Anyway, the re-recorded single version features a new guest vocalist, Bloc Party's Kele Okereke and the new male vocals do sound better now. Listen to the song below:

V V Brown announces a competition regarding her next single release.

So, after releasing the amazing singles "Samson" and "The Apple" from her stunning sophomore album Samson & Delilah, V V Brown is apparently about to release another single! Which song it'll be exactly remains a mystery, and that's actually the catch here: you have to guess it on her Facebook page. Each person gets one chance, and out of the people who have predicted it right by the time the competition ends, one will be randomly selected as the winner. And what does the winner get, you ask? A personal song written by Brown especially to him or her, that's what.

She'll be posting about the competition every Monday (until otherwise stated) so I suppose it'll last for at least a couple of weeks. Here's the first hint:

Nope, me neither. Personally I'd hope for either "Ghosts" or "Knife". "Igneous" could also be a strong contender. I'm still waiting for more hints before I leave my guess though.

Oh, and if you're 'blessed' with an impossibly pronounceable name such as a Polish one with like, seven consonants back-to-back, do us all (and her) a favour and maybe don't participate, eh? 

(Then again, am I really one to talk? Finnish names aren't exactly easy for foreigners either. Okay, fine, live and let live. Everybody go and participate, good luck! Who knows, maybe the winner could be you...)

Popheaval's Best of 2013: #10-1

Alright, I think it's about time to list the remaining half of my Best of 2013 listing. If you haven't seen the first half (#20-11) yet, you can find it over here. But now, let's get on with it - here's my top ten of 2013!

Review: 'Samson & Delilah' by V V Brown

Things haven't gone exactly smoothly for V V Brown's musical career. After her retro-pop influenced debut album Travelling Like The Light in 2009, she was set to release a follow-up titled Lollipops & Politics in 2012. The concept album which would've dealt with political themes but with a pop-friendly approach (hence the somewhat awkward name) was actually recorded, and a lead single "Children" was released. However, even though the album was apparently finished and even a tracklist was revealed, she then decided to scrap the whole album, not being satisfied with the results and chose to return to the studio, creating another album from scratch. To the disappointment of her fans, the initial second album is likely to remain unreleased.

But the 'new second album' was more than worth the wait. Instead of sounding like Travelling Like The Light 2.0 which seemed rather inevitable with Lollipops & Politics and its lead single "Children", V V Brown takes us to a completely new direction with her brilliant Samson & Delilah. Biblical stories are often used as allegories for something else, and so it is also here: In V V Brown's version of events it is the music industry that is portrayed as the backstabbing, deceitful Delilah who betrays Samson, described by Brown as the exploited artist. That is essentially the concept around which the album was apparently built. Fittingly, the album release was preceded by lead single "Samson" that immediately told us that we were to expect something completely unexpected from her. Gone was the naive playfulness of her previous material. Instead, her music was now electronic-oriented, artistically ambitious and rather solemn.

Watch V V Brown perform 'The Apple' on Later... with Jools Holland

Yesterday, BBC published a video of V V Brown performing her latest single "The Apple" on Later... with Jools Holland. The song - along with her singing - sounds amazing live but what really strikes me about it is the remarkable development that has happened during her career. While her 2009 debut Travelling Like The Light was a fun retro-pop album and all, her new style is much deeper, more mature and artistically more ambitious. I mean, could you possibly imagine that the woman who sings this...





...used to make music like this?





Talk about evolution!

Yesterday was a good day for music.

Not only did we get Arcade Fire's new, amazing single that also briefly features David Bowie in the backing vocals, but V V Brown's sophomore LP "Samson & Delilah" was also released yesterday! The reviews have been raving so far, even calling it one of the best albums of the year. I still haven't had a proper chance to get familiar with the album apart from the iTunes preview snippets but I think I'll wait until I get my hands on the actual record before drawing any conclusions. It does sound brilliant so far, however, and can be purchased and previewed here. Here are also the two singles that preceded the album:









The music video of "The Apple" seems to be continuation to that of "Samson", and together they tell a story of a man who's betrayed by a woman who cuts his hair - a reference to the biblical character of the same name - causing him to lose his strength and youth. Then, however, he seeks aid from another woman who rejuvenates him: the mysterious character is played by V V Brown herself. Slightly confused? I don't blame you. Perhaps there will be a third installment that'll serve as a conclusion to the saga and everything will make sense once and for all. I reckon that one would be about the man's quest for revenge against his betrayer. But we'll have to see about that.

V V Brown - 'The Apple'

New music from V V Brown's upcoming album, titled Samson & Delilah, has surfaced. The second single "The Apple" sounds quite nice and marks a departure from the straight-forward retro pop sound of her debut album Travelling Like The Light. Her music sounds more mature now, which is great, considering that though her first LP was fun and had great tracks on it, it wasn't really that spectacular as whole. But this new stuff's very promising indeed! It sounds like a long-lost twin sister of Róisín Murphy's 2007 track "Parallel Lives".





You should also check out the album's sinister lead single, the semi-titular "Samson". It sounds new and fresh, yet distinctively V V Brown, it's catchy and it leaves you wanting for more. Just like a lead single should be.