Little Boots

Though she's already a star in the UK, North America is taking things slower with Victoria Hesketh, better known as Little Boots. With an album already out in her home country, this English darling has debuted here with this taster EP showcasing her two singles. The perfect middle ground between Kylie's glamorous commercial pop pizzazz and Goldfrapp's more leftfield leanings, Little Boots has a bonafide hit in "New In Town," a feisty introduction that immediately solidifies her arrival. Co-written and produced by Hot Chip's Joe Goddard, "Stuck On Repeat" lit up the blogosphere last year. Straight out of Giorgio Moroder's playbook, it gloriously replicates the undulating signature synths he blessed Donna Summer's "I Feel Love" with. From there, it's a matter of filling in the holes to make this an EP. "Not Now" is carbon copy Kylie but not actually a throwaway, and "Magical" borrows its heavenly disco vibe from Anita Ward's "Ring My Bell." Finally, there's a cover of Freddie Mercury's "Love Kills," a wise choice considering Moroder was also the producer of the original, and Hesketh manages to make it her own. Illuminations works as a good taster but still leaves me wondering why her label didn't just go straight to the album and let Little Boots do the talking herself.