The Singles Jukebox

Aussie chanteuse about to become rather popular in the UK. Not sure why…

[Video][Website]
[4.91]

Matt Cibula: Not the worst most horrible piece of crap ever, maybe not even in the bottom thousand, but I would be perfectly happy living the kind of life where I didn’t have this blasted at me in every available medium, so maybe a Zen monastery looms in my immediate future after all.
[3]

Anthony Easton: Moldy Peaches rip off, obv. But it is charming, and has that jazz hand, head bopping rhythm — I can deal with that sort of theater for about three minutes.
[6]

Anthony Miccio: Why is this four minutes long? They couldn’t have needed more than three to score a TV tie-in.
[3]

Doug Robertson: Has this been on an iPod advert yet? If not, I give it about 6 months. But still… still… despite the annoying core that beats at the heart of this song like an itchy nose in public, there’s something charming going on that makes you wish it wasn’t quite so calculated and actually was as accidentally carefree as it’s trying to be. My brain wants to hate this but my heart keeps whistling the chorus. One of those organs is clearly in dire need of medical attention.
[6]

Michaelangelo Matos: As you may have noticed from my valiant attempt to defend Jens Lekman a bit back, I have a taste for whimsy. But this isn’t whimsy — it evokes instead a machine-tooled replica of whimsy, one whose entire message can be boiled down not to “I’m just a little bit caught in the middle/Life is a maze and love is a riddle” (and raindrops keep fallin’ on my head) or even “Just enjoy the show/Dum-dee-dum, da-dum-dee-dum,” but to “I’m just a little girl lost in the moment.” At least she provides an answer for the rest of us: “I want my money back.” And I didn’t even pay for it.
[2]

Martin Kavka: Lenka says that she’s a little girl lost in the moment; the plinky-plonky production of the song brings that message home. Perhaps she should stop complaining and become an adult. On the other hand, the music industry doesn’t like adult women. As l’affaire Hollie Steel has taught us — whether or not it was staged — it likes little girls of all ages, so that it can make them cry, take pity on them, and then call them “courageous” while ensuring that its boot will always be on top of them. Sigh.
[4]

Chuck Eddy: Walks that fine line between cute and cutesy. You know, like Lily Allen. Or Katy Perry. Or Regina Spektor. Or Nellie McKay. All of whom have much cleverer material than this — but who knows, maybe Lenka does, too. Personally, I find it quite quaint how she thinks “can’t” rhymes with “want.” But probably that just means she’s Australian.
[4]

Hillary Brown: Are you positive she’s not Swedish? This is part Regina Spektor (when she’s on), part Marit Larsen, which means it’s got a kind of pointy, delicate, balletic quality. It doesn’t really rise to the heights of the latter, especially under sustained examination, but, you know, one can just enjoy the show.
[8]

Martin Skidmore: I feared this was going to be quirky and annoying, but there is some charm here, albeit with more than a hint of saccharine. It bounces along like a pop song, and she delivers it cutely enough, phrasing and stressing it with real skill. I have a feeling I could grow to hate her feyness, but on a couple of listens it’s fairly likeable.
[5]

Ian Mathers: I’ve given up on trying to parse out when and how much quirk is likely to annoy me; take my score as roughly the percentage of “The Show” where Lenka’s bouncy melody and winsome voice won out over how stupid I think this song is.
[6]