Album Review: Clare Maguire - Light After Dark

Clare Maguire - Light After Dark

One of my top 10 'must see' events at this year's Glastonbury was the debut of Clare Maguire, the diminutive Brummie with the amazing voice. One of the BBC's top five 'sound of 2011' list, I had heard a couple of Maguire's singles and was determined to find out more.

Sadly, a bout of terrible stomach trouble put paid to that, and so it's only now that I've finally got to find out what all the fuss is about. And, unlike many of the critics whose reviews I have read, the fuss seems totally justified.

I love Light After Dark. Energetic piano-led pop, it is jam-packed with potential chart singles including the marvellous The Shield and the Sword, The Last Dance and I Surrender as well as oddly-paced but excellent hit Ain't Nobody.

I've heard Maguire's voice variously compared to Annie Lennox and Shakespear's Sister and there is certainly something slightly retro about this record - think Hurts perhaps but with a female vocal.

By the time the utterly terrific This Is Not The End had closed this album, all I wanted to do was to listen to it again. And again. And, it's still getting better with every listen. It might not be pushing any musical boundaries, but Maguire has a brilliant voice and Light After Dark is a likeable, high quality pop record.