May 30, 2000

Hear My Cry

[B]Sonique[/B] is the crossover house equivalent of Gabrielle or [a]Lisa Stansfield[/a].

4 / 10 The male-dominated indie world has nothing on the closed-shop Boy's Own club of dance. Here, then, is the welcome rise of the first female superstar DJ, already huge in the States, and about to crash land at the top of our charts with the trance-lite 'It Feels So Good'.

/img/sonique0600.jpg Something, however, has gone wrong since she put in her apprenticeship working with S'Express and Josh Wink before becoming a top club DJ in her own right. Because, avoiding the easy option of a remix compilation, this tackles the altogether trickier prospect of a proper album of original, self-penned songs instead.

As a textbook study of what happens when you forsake your strengths in favour of more adult concerns, chances are this won't go down too well in clubland. Because, while she's fine on the pop silliness of that floor-filling single, her attempts to show depth, emotion and a love of croaking soul ('Are You Really', 'Drama') coupled with vague let's-all-be-nice-to-each-other lyrics lack the immediate thud of the best dance music, without replacing it with any real emotional connection.

Clinically, blandly proficient, Sonique is the crossover house equivalent of Gabrielle or Lisa Stansfield. It'll make her beloved of Brits voting panels but, sadly, Oakenfold, Tong and the rest have got very little to worry about.