Random Order

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
Random Order CD VIRGIN, CDVUS265, 2005, 12 Track

AMAZON
Random Order, the debut solo album from 25-year-old Juliet Richardson, is a quite different affair to her first foray in the public domain as one of 1 Plus 1 a chart-pop band who made a small dent in the UK chart with a cover of The Runaways "Cherry Bomb" back in 2000. Her experience with the mainstream pop world, however, is quite possibly the source of the adventurous, wilful streak that runs through electro-tinged new tracks herein.

Recorded with the help of producer Stuart Price aka neon-haired synth-popper Jacques Le Cont of Les Rythmes Digitales and Zoot Woman the likes of "Puppet" and "Nu Taboo" demonstrate Juliet to be a young, mannered chanteuse with something of the young Annie Lennox to her coolly emotional delivery. Thats not to say this is a record without sexual charge: in particular, Pete Tong favourite "Avalon" is a stand-out, Richardsons seductive purr twinned to a chilly, techno backdrop that perhaps only increases its sultry appeal. Its just that, as Juliet would be first to tell you, shes got more to offer than pin-up looks - and Random Order confirms that in spades. --Louis Pattison



REVIEW
Having been championed by the dance music underground in Miami, Pennsylvanian Juliet Richardson with the release of Random Order looks for wider recognition with a debut album of palpable depth.

"Avalon", the hauntingly simple debut single and an Essential New Tune on the nation's favourite, is a forerunner of what's within and perfectly encapsulates Juliet's celestial timbre.

It's a blueprint created by celebrated Stuart Price (aka Jacques Lu Cont / Thin White Duke / Les Rhythmes Digitales) that at times mirrors his own stylings, creating a female counterpart for the alterna-electro brassy retro-pop market in the process. "I am guided by my own impulses", she reaffirms, having learned from her frustration fronting the sugar-coated pop-rock band 1 Plus 1.

When the penny dropped and she realised she was trapped within another manufactured pop act, she shaved her head in rebellion and started screaming in black instead of bouncing in pink.

Drawing on inspirations that range from Radiohead and Daft Punk to Jeff Buckley and My Bloody Valentine, Juliet's music is best described as electronic/house with pop sensibilities.

"Nu Taboo" sums up the same breathless explosion of urban pop energy that gave Kylie "Slow", and is the most outwardly electro-pop moment on display, while "Neverland" rides throbbing basslines and 80s synths riffs in the best tradition of Kraftwerk and Blondie.

Elsewhere comatose beats and razor-sharp processed guitars stand juxtaposed on the ethereal Kate Bush-sounding torch song, "Waiting"; on "New Shoes" Juliet flutters to rocky heights and then drops to sultry whispers in the space of a few seconds against loosely knitted guitar/drum interplay.

Amazingly, the album was composed in two short weeks with the themes drawn from personal experiences. "There's enough fiction in the world, people are more interesting when they're honest", she boldly declares. And that's what Juliet has achieved: a potent cocktail of incisive sensuality that perfectly fuses dance-inflected rock beats, with waves of vivid, vocal emotion. --Lewis Dene

Find more music at the BBC This link will take you off Amazon in a new window

















See more

Number of Discs: 1

UK Delivery:

• Free delivery on all orders of £10 or more.
• £1.49 delivery fee on orders below £10.
• UK orders are shipped via Royal Mail 2nd Class.

International Delivery:

• Flat rate delivery charges vary by country.

Dispatch and Delivery Times:

• All orders are shipped from our warehouse in Northampton, UK within 48 hours of receipt during working hours.
• UK mainland orders typically arrive within 3-5 working days via Royal Mail 2nd Class.
• International estimated delivery times:
• Europe & Channel Islands: 7 to 10 working days
• USA: 7 to 15 working days
• Rest of the World: 9 to 21 working days

View our full delivery infomation here.