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Not sure how familiar Buzzjack will be with this lady but I'll give a short precis for you...

 

Alexis Strum was a singer-songwriter from Essex who recorded two albums in the early 00s for different record labels; the first, for Warner Records, was called Addicted, and had a lead single of the same name that was due for release in May 2003. A small misunderstanding from the team at Lorraine Kelly's show saw her performance on there cancelled at the last minute and her record deal thus ended before she even got music out (although two of the songs from that album, "Still Standing" and "Nothing Good About This Goodbye" both found homes on albums for Kylie Minogue and Rachel Stevens respectively).

 

She then recorded another album, this time for Mercury Records, in 2005, called Cocoon, which had a couple of singles - "Bad Haircut" and "It Could Be You" - but again, her deal ended before the album ever saw the light of day.

 

Fast forward to last year and, spearheaded by the brilliant Pop Music Activism account, both her unreleased albums finally got a digital - and in the case of Cocoon, a vinyl and CD - release, and she's had over half a million streams on Spotify.

 

Today she released her first brand new single in 18 years, called "Karma". She's also playing a show at The Cavendish Arms in South London on 18th November, with an album to follow next year.

 

It's such a good song this!

Edited January 21Jan 21 by ThePensmith

2024, not 2023

 

Just found this good song. Better late than never. :)

Great earworm of a pop song

 

I like it so much its my entry for BJSC171!

Sadly the BJSC crowd didn't see the appeal to this song (although 5 people voted for it out of 25).

 

Still a pop banger with an iconic chorus.

 

Defo want to see some more new music from Alexis.

She's apparently got another new song on the way in the next few weeks.

 

I've always loved Alexis, she really got screwed by record companies (twice) because Bad Haircut (which I bought on single in 2005) deserved much more and It Could Be You probably should have been a massive hit, and could have been with the right backing and promotion. I did buy Cocoon in 2023 when it was properly released finally.

 

Karma is a solid, catchy return - good for her having another stab at her pop career, she will always have a small but fiercely loyal fanbase because she wrote some great pop, not just for herself but Rachel Stevens, Kylie etc... I hope she releases another album.

It Could Have Been You should have been a massive hit back in the day!

 

GD - Interested to hear your opinion of Cocoon? I found her songs hit and miss from that album

I thought it was overall quite decent, I saved Heart Over Mind, Why Me, Why Now, Alright, Cocoon and The Long Way Home to my playlist, and already knew and enjoyed Bad Haircut and It Could Be You.

 

So 7/11 songs wasn't bad, it's by no means a masterpiece but showed potential and its singles should have been big hits.

I really liked Nothing Good About This Goodbye when it was out, the production has aged a bit now but it's still a nice track.

 

 

I haven't been able to get on board with Karma, sometimes the lyrics to a track can really put me off and the main line of 'Alexa play Taylor Swift Karma' just really grates on me sadly

I totally agree with Dandy...I enjoyed the arrangements and the production but I really couldn't get past Alexa, Taylor part in the end. Found it a bit too cringey unfortunately!!!

 

EDIT:

 

I just checked and I still ranked it 15th, so it wasn't bad after all!!!

Edited January 27Jan 27 by Addy!