I’m not going to hide it, we adore Carla J Easton. She’s such a tiny superstar, I’m almost willing Smash Hits back to life just to see her joshing about on the front cover where she belongs. ‘Weirdo’ is her third solo album after ‘Homemade Lemonade’ and 2018’s spectacular ‘Impossible Stuff’ this record finds her turning to keyboards and electronica and it's a wise move. Miss Easton has a unique voice at times it can be a youthful squeak and then it can be soaring above the clouds, sometimes both within the line of a song.
‘Weirdo’ is a bit of a journey, at times playful (‘Get Lost’) or energetic (‘Over You’) sometimes brooding (‘Coming Up Daisies’) but always inventive, the new sound is a perfect match for Carla’s writing. It compliments her slight oddness, not that we’d ever call our Carla a weirdo but she just has that nice left of centredness that sets her apart from her contemporaries.
Wisely the album opens with the frankly magnificent ‘Get Lost’ a thumping blast of summery pop. It's one to file in the ‘Number ones that should’ve been’ folder of pop. If you haven’t heard it yet then rectify this immediately, you’ll thank me later.
‘Heart So Hard’ is another playful 80’s infused number, it shimmies and bops along cheerfully but never too saccharine, always balancing the songs just right Miss Easton injects a tiny bit of west of Scotland toughness.
‘Spun Out’ is darker in tone, it draws parallels to some of Bjork’s techno-inspired songs while the epic ‘Waves That Fall’ is bolstered by a guest appearance of Scottish rapper Solareye.
‘Never Knew You’ is possibly the closest to Carla’s previous sound until the chorus erupts into a huge blast of funky keyboards and we’re back in the present once more.
It's such a shame that the music industry is going through such a tough time because this album is a refreshing blast of lively pop that we could do with right now, in fact, the women in music are really showing the guys up just now. I know I’d rather listen to Carla, Taylor Swift, Jesse Ware or Lady Gaga’s recent albums over anything by dreary old blokes like Ed Sheeran just now.
Innovative, playful, layered and generally a lot of fun ‘Weirdo’ is an absolute blast of an album which should be embraced wholeheartedly and if there’s any justice Clara will get her Smash Hits Poll Winners Party award sometime very soon.