Santogold: Santogold: Amazon.co.uk: Music

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Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review
Don't call Santi White an R&B artist: on her debut album Santogold, this former music biz A&R and pop songwriter for hire is challenging race stereotypes and playing fast and loose with genre, mashing up dub, punk, and electronics to make an energetic, anger-fuelled music that blurs the lines between the dancefloor and the moshpit. Comparisons to MIA hold some water, especially on the bullish "Creator" (it's worth nothing that Santogold features production turns from sometime MIA collaborators Diplo and Switch). For the most part, though, Santogold's debut follows a quite different path. "L.E.S Artists" is stirring new-wave pop that builds to grand, tearful choruses reminiscent of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, while "You'll Find a Way" and "Say Aha" are propulsive ska-pop numbers that hark back to its creator's previous band, Bad Brains-influenced punks Stiffed. But it's not just skilful genre-skipping to recommend this record, though: White is the rare vocalist that can sound empowered and vulnerable within the space of the same song, and it's her force of character that places Santogold ahead of the pack. --Louis Pattison

Rolling Stone, 2008
'Philly punk embraces New Wave art rock.'

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Customer Reviews

14 Reviews

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

Average Customer Review

4.1 out of 5 stars (14 customer reviews)

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9 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Well worth a listen, 14 May 2008

By	SJC (Sheffield, UK) - See all my reviews

Santogold has been the subject of a fair amount of what could be called hype recently, which means I approached this LP with a certain amount of scepticism. While this record isn't the pop revolution some journalists would seem to think, it is an enjoyable and generally interesting one.

This isn't as "genre bending" as some have said, but it is fairly varied in that tracks like "You'll Find A Way" are in a quite Yeah Yeahs Yeahs / The Kills type vein, whereas tracks like "Creator" are very M.I.A.-ish (someone she's often compared too - in my eyes Santogold is more interesting, actually). Tracks like "My Superman", on the other hand, are more reminiscent of good 80's pop than anything else, for me.

This mix is a good thing, and keeps things interesting enough to make this LP well worth sticking with, and if you like the above mentioned groups, you might well like some of this LP. On the down side, this isn't doing anything THAT new, but it is still doing it well, and is well above the very run-of-the-mill stuff clogging up the charts these days. This in itself makes this worth 4 stars - because it has genuinley good tunes (tracks like "Lights Out" and the current single "L.E.S Artistes" are examples of simply great pop tunes) and doesn't desperately try to be something "cool" for the sake of it.

So - a good pop album, with some actual depth - but don't expect this to blow you away, just take it for what it is - a good set of tunes (with a few weakish tracks...). All in all, well worth checking out above much else out there at the moment. I am still left wondering though - when will the 80's throwback stop...?

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Santogold - SOLID GOLD, 4 Feb 2009

By	K. charles-neale (Somerset, England) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

A great album. Not heard their stuff before the sample tracks on this listing, and am I glad I did! Sounding a little like M.I.A Paper Planes, but consistant aural pleasure across all tracks. A hint of native american sounds and a little Persian influence on another keeps it all fresh. 2-weeks and I've yet to take it out of my car CD player.
Recommended.

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11 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Your horizons... Broaden them., 15 May 2008

By	DaPersa (London) - See all my reviews

I purchased this album for two reasons. Firstly, for the one song 'Creator' from the VO5 adverts. Secondly, and tied to the first reason, I thought to get the album because I found her voice and style on 'Creator' very similar to that of M.I.A. Reviews also compared and made references between the two artists and I very much admire M.I.A's work.
At first listen, i was disappointed. It sounded very rock/punk to me with the exception of a couple of tracks. But I pressed on, as always to get my money's worth, and listened to the CD all day to gain a full immersion into the music of Santogold.
I am pleasantly surprised. The tracks which at first impression sounded rocky and exhausting turned out melodic and upbeat. It is not the usual style of music I enjoy but there is something I indeed like about it. For instance, the mild reggae feel of 'Shove It' and the ska punk element in 'Say Aha'. It has a retro electronica sound about it and consequently, being an 80's baby myself, delivers a nostalgic effect. Other examples of this include 'My Superman', 'Starstruck' and 'Anne', all of which hold a sort of dark, melancholy synth-pop sound.
The best track of the entire album has to be 'Anne'. It is reminiscent of Bronsky Beat's 'Smalltown Boy' and epitomises this mid-80's synth genre.
Tracks which I personally find weak include 'Lights Out' and 'I'm A Lady'. They are definitely much too indie-pop for my taste. In fact, I deleted them from my Windows Media Player but unfortunately cannot off the actual CD. Shame. Another disappointment was the fact that she did not provide lyrics with the CD. Knowing what an artist is singing about always seems to elevate a track.
In conclusion, I would recommend this album. In comparison with M.I.A, the 'Creator' track and very vaguely 'Unstoppable' is where the similarities end. However, in the M.I.A vs Santogold debate I would still opt for the former despite what some reviews may say about Santogold having a more diverse repetior (and in one case "more talent and a wider artistic range") than M.I.A. She's my personal preference (maybe because she's Indian and a British artist).
So if you're more of a Rio Funk and World music meets House & Garage type, I might suggest to allow Santo.
But it never hurts to broaden your horizons...

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant
I love this CD, its been playing continuously in my car for about a month!

Published 1 month ago by K. Jackson

2.0 out of 5 stars Don't believe the H.Y.P.E
I thought this was a boring indie album by an average singer, massively over-hyped by the comparisons to MIA. Disappointing.

Published 3 months ago by Reuben J. Turner

4.0 out of 5 stars Going For Gold!
I bought this on the strength of having heard a couple of tracks on Santogold's MySpace page and have not been disappointed. Read more

Published 3 months ago by Mandy Bang!

5.0 out of 5 stars Great album
Recently purchased Oracular spectacular, Vampire weekend and this. All three had some great tracks on it but this one was the best of the three. Read more

Published 5 months ago by Buckers

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't listen 2 reviews, listen 2 the music
Dark baselines, great hooks, punk feel.
Don't slag it just because the music rags love it.
Santa's coming to town. x

Published 5 months ago by D. S. Robertson

5.0 out of 5 stars Genius
A truly great album. Danceable, fun and melodic with a driving rhythm and strong vocals. I think this is just brilliant. Read more

Published 6 months ago by Gabrielle O

4.0 out of 5 stars Cool fresh tunes.
I bought this album on the strength of Lights Out, and am really pleased with it. I would give it five stars but there are maybe 3 or 4 weak tracks but I don't mind that. Read more

Published 7 months ago by DaveG

4.0 out of 5 stars The Formula Is Good
Listen to anything remotely resembling pop music these days and you will always find a trace of the formulaic about it. Read more

Published 11 months ago by pjr

5.0 out of 5 stars If you like M.I.A and Missy Elliott...
I brought this album after seeing Santogold perform a mash up with Roots Manouver, I have not been dissapointed. Read more

Published 11 months ago by E. SAVAGE

1.0 out of 5 stars Labels For Less
The Wolf first encountered Ms White and her cohorts on the
estimable Mr Holland's variety show 'Later' early in 2008. Read more

Published 12 months ago by The Wolf

› See all 14 customer reviews...

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