Record company scouts spotted Alexandra Savior at 16 but she balked at plans to turn her into the next Katy Perry. The arty Portland teenager decamped to LA where she met her songwriting soulmate, Arctic Monkey’s Alex Turner. With producer James Ford, they have created a debut that captures Savior’s preternatural self-possession. Blessed with a crystalline, intimate voice – think a less cabaret Lana del Rey – she channels the outsider cool of the cult 70s Japanese anime the album is named after. However, Turner’s retro snap, crackle and pop and Ford’s studio shimmer polish Savior too much out of the picture, leaving her sounding like an imitation, rather than the real thing.
