Beth Jeans Houghton is our next choice of one to watch for 2010 and probably the most likely successor to the princess of alt folk pop crown currently held in the UK by Laura Marling (who will release her second album in 2010) Mind you Houghton recently told the NME “I did an interview once where they asked me if I thought me and Laura Marling had anything in common. I said, ‘No, unless you want to hear about my vagina.’”
So let’s forget about even what sex Houghton is and talk about what makes her special.
Houghton very much has her own vision, musically and visually. She may only be 19 but she is making sounds that could have come from one hundred years ago. Delicate, echoing, folkish chamber pop, the stuff of flotation tanks and strange dreams. In September she released her Hot Toast Volume One EP and has been working with Ben Hillier ( Blur and Doves ) for her debut album. Houghton claims that she was “born in Transylvania to a pack of albino werewolves,” but alas the reality is somewhat more ordinary, having spent her formative years in a terraced house in a Newcastle suburb. However, the exaggerated claims of her birth are part of the humorous package that Houghton brings, with her afro wigs and unique style - she’s the only girl around that is playing folk in hot pants and mini dresses.
Quite where Beth Jeans Houghton will fit in 2010 we’re not exactly sure, but she has the voice and the songs to ensure that she can carve out her own space.
No comments:
Post a Comment