Urban R&B
It's finally happened. We never thought it would but it has. And now, we must reap the whirlwind. The funny-voiced vocoder instrument that Daft Punk use to make all their songs sound so amazingly danceable has been stolen and is now being abused by an urban R&B band that go by the unlikely name of Chasing Liz.
The actual song itself sounds as if it is a re-working of a Craig David C-side, full of snappy hi-hats, programmed synthesisers and 'question and answer' harmonies, “I'm looking in your eyes/your pulling me closer”; at one point a backing vocalist appears, simply repeating, “hey, hey, hey hey”, as if he was requesting permission to visit the toilet. As mentioned before, the lead vocal is drenched in wobbly vocoder, an effect that can at times produce shatteringly effective results, (see Bon Iver's 'Woods', Red Hot Chilli Peppers' 'By the Way', or Daft Punk's entire back catalogue), yet here it simply conjures up memories of Victoria Beckham's ill-judged pairing with ex-boy band botherer Dane Bowers on 'Out Of Your Mind'.
For some reason, in addition to the lead single, Chasing Liz have included two more versions of 'Gravity Girl' as a little treat for their fan base, (which, one can only assume is made up of fourteen year old welfare mothers that meet behind KFC each school night and discuss which member of the band owes what alimony); the instrumental version which sounds like an experimental Blazin' Squad and then there is the imaginatively labelled 'Gravity Girl (Without Guitar)'. Why? Seriously, why?!
The single's back cover claims that this song is set to be a soundtrack for the summer 2009; you have been warned.