Little Boots
Working Girl

I hold a deep affection for this girl, with Little Boots, or rather, with Victoria—she will always be Victoria Hesketh to me—there was an instant connection right from the first listens: because she comes from humble beginnings, because she showcases more substance than image, because she is genuinely a DJ and musician, not just a cardboard cutout, because she is not being sensationalized by the media like some far less deserving "colleagues," but mostly because, in my opinion, she is truly talented, perhaps the most genuine talent to emerge in this specific disco-electropop realm of the 2000s. She can sing, has a captivating personality, never pretentious, and strikes the right balance between grit and elegance. She is creative, capable of renewing herself, tackling evident shifts in style and approach. The release of her third album, after "Hands" in 2009 and "Nocturnes" in 2013, both of which I listened to, re-listened to, and thoroughly enjoyed, was undoubtedly one of the most anticipated musical events for me of 2015, and now that "Working Girl" has finally arrived, what can I say? Many things, first of all that Victoria really tested me, there was no immediate connection like with the previous ones, I had to listen to this quite a bit to accurately assess it and express a well-considered judgment, and personally, I see this as a good thing. Some doubts remain, but this third album also provided many lovely confirmations: a mature, intelligent, and continuously evolving artist, I would say that the transition from the young category to the big category is now complete, and WG formally ratifies it, with lights and some shadows.

In three albums, Miss Stivaletti (a nod to Caligae, the preferred footwear of the controversial Emperor Caligula for those who might not know) has already demonstrated an uncommon chameleon-like ability: she started off in 2009 with "Hands", a lively, flamboyant album, flashy enough, not in the least snobbish, which doesn't hide its inspiration from sub-genres like eurodance and italo-disco but then, on the cusp of thirty, Victoria Hesketh stops playing the part of an over-enthusiastic disco-girl; there are those over fifty who still bank on that, but class isn't for everyone. In 2013, she returned with "Nocturnes", more mature, more eclectic, more refined in sounds, artwork, and attitude; it's her crowning achievement, marked by a perfect blend of vintage and modern ideas and noteworthy episodes like "Motorway," "Crescendo," "Strangers," and "Satellite." A challenging legacy to maintain, and Victoria decides, probably rightly, to once again capitalize on her innate versatility: cover, artwork, video clips, sound, lyrics, everything is designed and remodeled according to the aesthetic dictates of the "new" Little Boots, a career woman, rational, minimal, slightly aloof. Perhaps too much? An excess of self-control? More brain than heart? The issue is fundamentally this; it’s a bit difficult to establish an emotional connection, compared to the raw yet engaging Victoria of "Hands" and even the stylish pop singer of "Nocturnes," this new Victoria Hesketh inevitably appears somewhat antiseptic, yet "Working Girl" remains a very interesting work from various perspectives.

With this sound more subdued and minimalistic compared to the past, it's natural to pay more attention to Little Boots' singing style, and it's easy to notice her skill and a personality now fully developed: Victoria can't boast an extensive vocal range and power, but what she has (an agile and thin timbre) she exploits to the fullest of her capabilities and never beyond. She manages to be airy and expressive, perfectly modulating a refined and enticing vocal that harmonizes well with the music presented; it takes more than a few listens to appreciate "Working Girl," and this is precisely because in its "sophisticated lightness" it’s an album that piques curiosity, even if it doesn't "grab" you immediately, it can be played repeatedly without any issue, and with each listen, it grows in value. Another particularly interesting element of WG is undeniably the lyrics, far more crafted and meaningful than the genre's average: some of them are perceptive reflections of a young but no longer youthful artist caught in between the niche and mainstream, Victoria Hesketh seems to view the entertainment world with a commendable amount of coolness and detachment, one understands that being relatively on the margins doesn’t bother her at all, more freedom, fewer pressures, less chance of losing her soul. In general, VH's talent as a songwriter stands out in almost every episode, especially when she steps a bit out of character and the suits she flaunts in artwork and videos, revealing a sensitive and dreamy soul.

Musically, the watchwords are finesse and restraint: a minimal synth-pop dominates, finding its most original expression with "Better In The Morning", with its characteristic chant-like rhythm, almost like a lazy and vaguely surreal nursery rhyme, refined midtempos like "No Pressure", the ecstatic and dreamy "Paradise", the same "Working Girl", also presented in a beautiful piano/vocal version, and somewhat more upbeat tracks, "Get Things Done" and "The Game", which are pleasant electro-funky interludes, "Real Girl", closer to the nu-disco sounds experimented with previously, "Business Pleasure", which has the attitude of a little road trip, and the pleasant minimal-rap experiment à la Pet Shop Boys of "Taste It". "Help Too", airy and velvety, possibly represents the best track, surely the most direct and immediate, significant that a ballad holds such a role: here Victoria lets emotion flow freely, one doesn’t perceive that vague sense of unrealized potential hovering somewhat over the rest of the album, "Heroine" in particular.

Indeed, the instinct longs for a few disco-anthems like "Earthquake" and "Remedy" were at the beginning, misses them, but the brain can only applaud an intelligent, varied album, conceived to perfection, pursuing a specific concept of sound and image, behind which lie wit, irony, and critical spirit. I may not love it as much as "Nocturnes," it might have partially disappointed my expectations, but there is nothing in "Working Girl" I would throw away, nothing about Victoria Hesketh I would discard, she is an artist who, step by step, is carving out her own path, with creativity and quality, in a field that is hers, without sycophancy and without useless pretentiousness. I feel fortunate, in a sense, to experience her career and its evolutions "live," we don't live on past glories alone, and finding a new reality that's beautiful, interesting, and also full of little surprises to follow step by step is a true source of satisfaction.