Santogold

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Editorial reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
Don't call Santi White an R&B artist: on her debut album Santogold, this former music biz A&R and pop songwriter for hire is challenging race stereotypes and playing fast and loose with genre, mashing up dub, punk, and electronics to make an energetic, anger-fuelled music that blurs the lines between the dancefloor and the moshpit. Comparisons to MIA hold some water, especially on the bullish "Creator" (it's worth nothing that Santogold features production turns from sometime MIA collaborators Diplo and Switch). For the most part, though, Santogold's debut follows a quite different path. "L.E.S Artists" is stirring new-wave pop that builds to grand, tearful choruses reminiscent of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, while "You'll Find a Way" and "Say Aha" are propulsive ska-pop numbers that hark back to its creator's previous band, Bad Brains-influenced punks Stiffed. But it's not just skilful genre-skipping to recommend this record, though: White is the rare vocalist that can sound empowered and vulnerable within the space of the same song, and it's her force of character that places Santogold ahead of the pack. --Louis Pattison

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Customer reviews

review by: date: 2008-06-06 rating:
Unclassifiable pop genius!
If you put Blondie, dub reggae, punk, new wave, disco, dancehall, electro, pop and ska in a blender and pressed the button, you'd come out with something approaching Santogold's debut. If that sounds horribly arty and pretentious, though, don't fear; this is also a brilliant pop album, topped off with buckets of Brooklyn cool courtesy of Santi's Ronettes-meets-Debbie Harry voice. There's great hooks aplenty and you'll be humming these songs all summer. Yeah, okay, it's so undoubtedly trendy I expect to hear it the next time I go in Topshop, but Santogold is so much more than your average NME-endorsed chancer and far far more than (as some have claimed) a weaker version of her pal M.I.A.- and if you don't know who that is, you ought to search for 'Kala' and add it to your basket NOW. If you want to hear something fresh and exciting but still danceable and very enjoyable, you can't go wrong with this near-flawless effort from the amazing talent that is Santogold. Never thought I'd find myself agreeing with the NME but she might just be 'the Queen of all pop in 2008'!

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review by: date: 2008-05-15 rating:
Your horizons... Broaden them.
I purchased this album for two reasons. Firstly, for the one song 'Creator' from the VO5 adverts. Secondly, and tied to the first reason, I thought to get the album because I found her voice and style on 'Creator' very similar to that of M.I.A. Reviews also compared and made references between the two artists and I very much admire M.I.A's work.
At first listen, i was disappointed. It sounded very rock/punk to me with the exception of a couple of tracks. But I pressed on, as always to get my money's worth, and listened to the CD all day to gain a full immersion into the music of Santogold.
I am pleasantly surprised. The tracks which at first impression sounded rocky and exhausting turned out melodic and upbeat. It is not the usual style of music I enjoy but there is something I indeed like about it. For instance, the mild reggae feel of 'Shove It' and the ska punk element in 'Say Aha'. It has a retro electronica sound about it and consequently, being an 80's baby myself, delivers a nostalgic effect. Other examples of this include 'My Superman', 'Starstruck' and 'Anne', all of which hold a sort of dark, melancholy synth-pop sound.
The best track of the entire album has to be 'Anne'. It is reminiscent of Bronsky Beat's 'Smalltown Boy' and epitomises this mid-80's synth genre.
Tracks which I personally find weak include 'Lights Out' and 'I'm A Lady'. They are definitely much too indie-pop for my taste. In fact, I deleted them from my Windows Media Player but unfortunately cannot off the actual CD. Shame. Another disappointment was the fact that she did not provide lyrics with the CD. Knowing what an artist is singing about always seems to elevate a track.
In conclusion, I would recommend this album. In comparison with M.I.A, the 'Creator' track and very vaguely 'Unstoppable' is where the similarities end. However, in the M.I.A vs Santogold debate I would still opt for the former despite what some reviews may say about Santogold having a more diverse repetior (and in one case "more talent and a wider artistic range") than M.I.A. She's my personal preference (maybe because she's Indian and a British artist).
So if you're more of a Rio Funk and World music meets House & Garage type, I might suggest to allow Santo.
But it never hurts to broaden your horizons...

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review by: date: 2008-05-14 rating:
Well worth a listen
Santogold has been the subject of a fair amount of what could be called hype recently, which means I approached this LP with a certain amount of scepticism. While this record isn't the pop revolution some journalists would seem to think, it is an enjoyable and generally interesting one.

This isn't as "genre bending" as some have said, but it is fairly varied in that tracks like "You'll Find A Way" are in a quite Yeah Yeahs Yeahs / The Kills type vein, whereas tracks like "Creator" are very M.I.A.-ish (someone she's often compared too - in my eyes Santogold is more interesting, actually). Tracks like "My Superman", on the other hand, are more reminiscent of good 80's pop than anything else, for me.

This mix is a good thing, and keeps things interesting enough to make this LP well worth sticking with, and if you like the above mentioned groups, you might well like some of this LP. On the down side, this isn't doing anything THAT new, but it is still doing it well, and is well above the very run-of-the-mill stuff clogging up the charts these days. This in itself makes this worth 4 stars - because it has genuinley good tunes (tracks like "Lights Out" and the current single "L.E.S Artistes" are examples of simply great pop tunes) and doesn't desperately try to be something "cool" for the sake of it.

So - a good pop album, with some actual depth - but don't expect this to blow you away, just take it for what it is - a good set of tunes (with a few weakish tracks...). All in all, well worth checking out above much else out there at the moment. I am still left wondering though - when will the 80's throwback stop...?


review by: date: 2008-05-10 rating:
Santogold is cool
If you are unsure check her out on myspace, but if you like punk come pop and catchy tunes then just go for it. She was on later with Jools Holland and performed her single. She has been round a while but has hit the right vein. Good album, great single.

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