Katy B: On A Mission

Katy B
On A Mission
Rating: Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It

Dubstep diva Katy B, after years of releasing singles and collaborating on other artists' albums, finally gets around to releasing her solo debut, On A Mission. Katy B went to the same performing arts school that unleashed Adele, Leona Lewis, Jesse J, and Amy Winehouse on the world. Unlike those artists, she is not a showboater, preferring to sing aside the mix, not overpowering the songs with wild flights of histrionics. She has a distinct way of singing slightly off the beat, creating her own unique cadence. The problem with the album, good as it is, is twofold: one, a lot of these songs have been released before which takes the surprise factor away, and two, in an attempt to provide crossover potential, the album flies from style to style with little cohesion.

These are fairly minor quibbles as the album has so many strong individual tracks. The title track is a great introduction to her sound. A persistent stop-step beat and wonky bassline propel her sassy vocal turn:



"Witches Brew" floats her whispered vocal on top of the mix, kicking in to full gear on the chorus:

04-katy b-witches brew by tiger2801

"Go Away," is a fresh update of trip-hop with dubstep swagger:

Katy B - Go Away by cameelah

Her collaboration with Magnetic Man (Benga, Skream and Artwork) "Perfect Stranger," is practically perfect in every way:



Her strengths seem to lie where two/three different genres are bumping up against each other. "Broken Record," twists house, dubstep, and drum and bass into a frothy concoction:



The album falters a bit when either the music overtakes her, or the genre exercise lacks distinction. Her collaboration with Ms. Dynamite, "Lights On," highlights the guest rather than Katy:



"Easy Please Me," bops over a New Order synth bass line without really going anywhere:

Katy B - Easy Please Me by Uwe Uzi

"Movement," is a slight, deep house track that passes by invisibly:

05-katy b-movement by tiger2801

And "Hard To Get," closes out the album like some reject from the Zero 7 back catalog:

Katy B - Hard To Get by buzzinunlimited

Aside from these slight missteps, On A Mission is a catchy, enjoyable record. If Katy B wishes to be an album artist, she will make a far stronger album by focusing more on making a signature sound rather than attempting to provide something for everyone. Dance/electronic music these days is notoriously singles based, and if she wants to go that route, then the cherry picking of genres may work better for her.

Rating Guide

Chilfos: masterpiece; coolest thing I've heard in ages.

Woof Daddy: excellent; just a hair away from being a masterpiece.

Grrrr: very good; will definitely be considered for my top releases of the year.

Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It: good; definitely invites further listens and peaks one's interest for more material.

Meh: not horrible, but certainly not great; could have either been polished, trimmed, or re-thought.

Jeez Lady: what the hell happened? Just plain bad. They should hang their heads in shame and be forced to listen to Lady Gaga ad nauseam as penance.

Tragicistani: so bad, armed villagers with pitchforks and torches should run the artist out of the country for inflicting this abomination on the human race.