Queen of Hearts - Cocoon (2014)

QUEEN OF HEARTS is the talented young singer Elizabeth Morphew and after a long gestation period, her debut album ‘Cocoon’has finally arrived. Brought up to the sound of the synthesizer and learning to dance to the beat of electronic drums, the young royal grew up on a strict diet of A-HA, DEPECHE MODE, YAZOO and THE HUMAN LEAGUE, thanks to her dear Queen Mother. She first came to public attention via RED BLOODED WOMEN, a girl group who utilised the template of YAZOO and DEPECHE MODE enough to sound like GIRLS ALOUD produced by Daniel Miller. Following their disbandment in 2010, Morphew became QUEEN OF HEARTS. A debut EP ‘The Arrival’ was subsequently issued in 2011.

She once said “pop is not a dirty word”. And while she could be considered of the pop ilk, ‘Cocoon’ is not some producer puppet album. For a start, Morphew has co-written all the material while the producers have been sympathetic to the cause and not resorted to dumbing down to the Guetta level. Yes, there are danceable, club friendly beats, but these songs are spared the horribly predictable drops of that over rated chancer Harris! ‘Like A Drug’ is a good example of this carefully crafted ethos while ‘It Isn’t Enough’ and the frantic ‘Overcome By The Rhythm’ both extend to being trancey hands-in-the-air moments without the usual bombastic clichés.

Tracklist:

01. Freestyle (04:12)
02. Neon (04:04)
03. Secret (03:44)
04. ColourBlind (05:04)
05. Like a Drug (03:21)
06. It Isn't Enough (04:16)
07. Surrender (04:26)
08. Warrior (04:45)
09. Shoot the Bullet (03:28)
10. Heartbeat (02:43)
11. Angel (03:44)
12. Overcome By the Rhythm (03:34)
13. Suicide (04:00)
14. Tears in the Rain (03:22)