Beth Ditto

Ditto’s work with Gossip had already connected punk-band urgency to the dance floor. Her self-titled EP in 2011 took that conversation into a different setting, working with Simian Mobile Disco across four tracks. I Wrote the Book puts the vocal inside an electronic arrangement whose precision gives every change of pressure somewhere to register. Good Night Good Morning, Do You Need Someone and Open Heart Surgery complete a small, coherent statement rather than an album stretched around one single.

The attraction is in how much remains audible at a lower volume of expression. A singer associated with a commanding live presence can work within a tightly repeated rhythm and let phrasing do the disruptive work. The project also belongs to a continuing exchange with electronic musicians, including later recordings with Netsky and Cerrone.

Fake Sugar arrived in 2017, produced by Jennifer Decilveo. Their writing and preparation took place in Los Angeles and at Capitol Studios, with instrumental recording at Barefoot. Decilveo and engineer Cian Riordan described using different recording chains for polished and more vintage-coloured vocals, a practical detail that helps explain the album’s range. We Could Run and Savoir Faire do not need the same surface to belong to the same singer. Fire, In and Out and Oo La La give the record further points of contrast. Soul, pop and rock become working materials rather than boxes to tick. The album’s strongest idea is that a large voice can have several kinds of presence: pushing a rhythm, holding back inside a verse, or letting a rough edge remain exposed when a cleaner take might have been easier.