On A Mission- Katy B

Dubstep everygirl’s anything-but-ordinary debut...

Undoubtedly, British music finds itself in one of the lowest troughs it’s been in a while. It’s all cyclical of course- things we as depressing in the early years of the century before Libertines, Ferdinands et al put us back on the map.

When trying to spot where we’re all headed, you could place a worse bet than dubstep being the genre to push forward with. Last year, genre pioneers Skream, Benga and Artwork created their Magnetic Man and took it to the top of the chart, and now their young protégée is hoping to do the same.

Katy Brien has even more crossover appeal. To start with, it’s not really dubstep- there’s a nice bass-end in places, and the atmosphere is pure night-time- but it’s all streamlined with pop hooks to make the often daunting club genre a little more palatable for the more casual listener. And in this instance, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that as On A Mission is packed with wall-to-wall gems.

Title track Katy On A Mission is already familiar, becoming ubiquitous on daytime radio at the end of last year, and for the start of the record, Katy is a tower of strength: ...Mission along with Power On Me and Witches’ Brew showcase a confident, intelligent young woman not to be messed with, the latter especially with its seductive rhythm and brass-assisted chorus.

That’s all well and good, but the second half of the albums becomes a little more interesting, moving into the shade. The likes of Lights On (with Ms Dynamite shuffling on like someone’s mad aunty bizarrely) and Magnetic Man-backed Perfect Stranger maintain the confidence, but it’s tracks like Go Away and Broken Record that show another side of Brien- less sure of herself, slightly damaged, and lost in the harmonies of the former.

As On A Mission brings dubstep-pop fully into the mainstream, a few of the steps falter. Movement, for one, brings in latin vibes and though Katy’s voices manages the sudden leap to sexy, the backing production ends up a little too close to some sort of lounge act. Final track Hard To Get is also disappointment, showing dubstep’s history coming out of early 00s jungle and garage in a toe-curling manner.

Despite this, Katy B’s debut’s job to show the first glimmering embers of a new start for British music is a runaway success. Expect these songs to continue to be everywhere this summer.

4/5

Best Tracks:
Katy On A Mission
Broken Record
Just Go Away
Witches’ Brew