In a world of received-pronunciation indie, wispy club-track warbling and London Grammar, it’s great to have Beth Ditto back, with her decibels to rival Aretha Franklin and flotilla of sequinned sizzle. Her first solo album since the Gossip split retells her familiar story of Arkansas gal-done-good, running the gamut of classic 1970s and 80s pop – Fleetwood Mac, Blondie, Suicide, Paul Simon – alongside the odd angular stomper that nods to the Soulwax remixes of her former band.
Brilliantly, some songs have the effect of Trentemøller’s electro-rockabilly with Ditto as Tarantino heroine, while elsewhere Stevie Nicks dominates, especially on the title track, which coolly updates Mac with a Balearic house beat. There’s even a rock ballad moment on Lover, as if Ditto is alone on a saloon stage until the backdrop falls away to reveal the stadium.
Fake Sugar doesn’t make it much clearer what kind of pop star Ditto wants to be – but she’s one to be strutted to, at the very least.
