Let's face it, we're all sick of the idea that a pretty image and a few half-arsed tunes makes you a celebrity. Fortunately, Hannah Clark, a.k.a. FOE, is on our wavelength too, and her voice is much prettier than ours.
The sound of this debut is undeniably striking. Clark's teenage obsession with grunge has done her in good stead, accompanying her biting lyrics well. Then there's the huge, distorted bass and jagged drums that seem to have drifted in from a Dizzee Rascal record, sprinkled with a dash of demented synths and occasional Gothic organ outbursts. Somehow, these diverse ingredients do not sound like a pick n' mix, but a natural selection that work marvellously.
'A Handsome Stranger Called Death' could be considered the centrepiece of the record. The echoes and ghost-like production sound out of place, but compliment Clark's charming quaver beautifully, and this pattern can be found throughout Bad Dream Hotline. The title track has an unbalanced harp hook leading the album to a close, but the result is still spine-tingling. There are plenty of sincere lyrical soundbites to beguile the listener too. 'Genie In a Coke Can' is evocative for several reasons – her descriptions are graphic, even taking on the persona of Christina Aguilera and declaring that she wants “all men to salivate when they see her”, and dismissing the “pop star trash” with her own unique brand of pop.
It's a very clever formula that sees Clark taking on mainstream figureheads with her own dark, damaged version of pop – fighting pop with pop, if you will. On 'Get Money' her sweet, expressive melodies sound like they're literally battling against the scuzz-accented dirty rhythm in the background. Some of the features (e.g. the various samples) can admittedly seem a little phoned-in at points, with Gothic weirdness permeating areas that you'd not expect. Even if you ignore all these perplexities, this album works regardless. The hooks, the choruses, the incessant charms of Ms Clark's voice; FOE has produced a wicked debut that manages to be cynical and sexy without sounding bitterly contrived.
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The sound of this debut is undeniably striking. Clark's teenage obsession with grunge has done her in good stead, accompanying her biting lyrics well. Then there's the huge, distorted bass and jagged drums that seem to have drifted in from a Dizzee Rascal record, sprinkled with a dash of demented synths and occasional Gothic organ outbursts. Somehow, these diverse ingredients do not sound like a pick n' mix, but a natural selection that work marvellously.
