October 21, 2000

Precious: 'New Beginning'

Something of a half-hearted affair, sounding like an over-polished 'Something Deep Inside'...

Not, sadly, a cover of Stephen Gately's brave, but ultimately doomed, Led Zeppelin-lite monstrosity of earlier this year, 'New Beginning' is Precious' fourth single from their oft-delayed and still hardly-anticipated eponymous debut album.

Unfortunately, as new beginnings go, it's something of a half-hearted affair. Sounding for all the world like an over-polished take on 'rowdy' Billie Piper's 'Something Deep Inside' (which was already a ham-fisted rehash of the collected works of Queen Britney), it's all too easy to suggest that instead of ushering in a new chapter in their career, 'New Beginning' might mark the end of the line for Precious.

They're a likeable, talented bunch, with a diary of appearances so crowded it would kill your average indie band. They've just never been allowed to let their own personalities shine through in their songs, constantly being hurried from one half-arsed hand-me-down idea (combat-trousered Eurovision All Saints on 'Say it Again') to the next (standing in the sea like a rather embarrassed TLC for 'It's Gonna Be My Way').

It's a shame, but in a market increasingly overcrowded with girl-groups, perhaps it is just a little too late for Precious to make their fresh start.

Andrew Wagstaff