aaamusic | On 21, Oct 2010

Somewhere between country, folk and R&B styled hip-pop you’ll find Lauren Pritchard crooning ‘Not The Drinking’. Despite the distinctly folk-tinged opening on acoustic guitar, this is first and foremost a radio-facing pop single. Pritchard’s appealing and tuneful voice, with its warm and soulful tones, is buoyed by soft basslines and a lively drum machine. As this progress, we get horn stabs, uplifting string section soars and a soul influenced piano and backing vocals. The lyricism is sweetly wholesome and lovelorn, if slightly confusing. The melody is your bog-standard pop hook from start to end, although in her favour Lauren Pritchard pulls it off with considerable aplomb here, blending several influences into an enjoyable three minutes of soul-pop pleasure.

I would hazard a guess that Pritchard will soon find herself in a limelight of some kind. Her music is happily riding multiple zeitgeists and could be written off as flavour of the moment, yet there is a definite aspect of something genuine at play here. She is undeniably charming in her vocal style and sounds like she is in charge of her own musical output. If you’re in the mood for something smooth and palatable yet in possession of a bit more than your typical chart gubbins, you may just have found it here.

Author: Katie H-Halinski