lady sovereign - "hoodie" (from the hoodie single, import available for preorder here.)

in brief : lady sov makes a fashion statement and it becomes her--and it becomes you to listen.

leaving aside the question of how lady sov can appoint herself fashion police and still end up in a hoodie, "hoodie" is too good of a single to be released in november, when traditionally most record companies and artists have called it a year. it comes w/ the usual squelchy electronic soundz heard on your average grime record, but on the chorus, it adds a slicing rhythm guitar line that sounds like it escaped from the new junior senior record, or from "fanfare in the garden." then, toward the end, lady sov breaks it down over a tubthumping drum part. it's a bit like little michael asking you to "shake it, shake it, baby!"--only sov begs you to "boogie woogie w/ me!"

actually, rather than a jackson 5 record, it reminds me of nothing so much as pre-beatles, post-elvis american girl pop. lady sovereign could just as easily be claudine clark or little eva, crying out against the unfairness of social convention. the ending seals it, the breakdown sounding like a conspiratorial moment, sov turning things down a bit so all girls w/in her area can hear her. w/ such a beguiling sound, it'd be hard not to rally to her call, hoodie or no.