Remi Nicole’s second album ‘Cupid Shoot Me’ is a brilliant vision of 50s doo wop and 60s girl group, re-imagined by North London's sharpest young singer songwriter. Evoking the sounds of the Shirelles, the Supremes and Carol King’s teenage songwriting tenure at the Brill Building, this is both a celebration of a classic, often overlooked era of vintage pure pop songwriting and a modern channeling of a classic sound back through a lo-fi, high concept album of Saturday night drive-in pop.
‘Cupid Shoot Me’ is a sophomore triumph that works as both introspective autobiography and as sheer, entertaining pop music. ‘Standing Tears Apart’ has a lovely reggae lilt, ‘Come Find Me’ is a soul ballad of the sweetest kind, ‘Nice Boy’ is exquisite girl-group pop, ‘Love You So’ would enliven any party, while 'Cupid Shoot Me' is joyous fuzz box doo-wop.
"Most people who have heard it think it’s a really fun and uplifting album when really it’s quite dark," says Remi. A self-taught multi-instrumentalist, musician, singer and songwriter who plays the guitars, keyboards and drum parts on the album, Remi is so proud of ‘Cupid Shoot Me’ that she now considers it her first album proper, after the tentative, underrated start that was her 2007 debut set, ‘My Conscience & I’. "I feel like that was an album of demos," she says. "This is my real debut. I didn’t know myself when I was 23. It was a challenging time. Now I feel like I know who I am and I know what I want, and that’s making the whole process of being a musician, and everything it involves, a lot easier.”"
The album comprises 11 songs, all delivering a varsity-jacketed girl-gang, diner-hanging, 'will you still love me tomorrow' mix of bubblegum and heartbreak, singalong melody and pain that re-routes the prom-night mores of Mad Men-era middle America for 21st century Britain. A musical journey that starts on Route 66 and ends up on the North Circular.
Remi Nicole
Cupid Shoot Me
Album: September 7th
Single: ‘Standing Tears Apart’ - August 31st
Label: Island Record
‘Cupid Shoot Me’ is a sophomore triumph that works as both introspective autobiography and as sheer, entertaining pop music. ‘Standing Tears Apart’ has a lovely reggae lilt, ‘Come Find Me’ is a soul ballad of the sweetest kind, ‘Nice Boy’ is exquisite girl-group pop, ‘Love You So’ would enliven any party, while 'Cupid Shoot Me' is joyous fuzz box doo-wop.
"Most people who have heard it think it’s a really fun and uplifting album when really it’s quite dark," says Remi. A self-taught multi-instrumentalist, musician, singer and songwriter who plays the guitars, keyboards and drum parts on the album, Remi is so proud of ‘Cupid Shoot Me’ that she now considers it her first album proper, after the tentative, underrated start that was her 2007 debut set, ‘My Conscience & I’. "I feel like that was an album of demos," she says. "This is my real debut. I didn’t know myself when I was 23. It was a challenging time. Now I feel like I know who I am and I know what I want, and that’s making the whole process of being a musician, and everything it involves, a lot easier.”"
The album comprises 11 songs, all delivering a varsity-jacketed girl-gang, diner-hanging, 'will you still love me tomorrow' mix of bubblegum and heartbreak, singalong melody and pain that re-routes the prom-night mores of Mad Men-era middle America for 21st century Britain. A musical journey that starts on Route 66 and ends up on the North Circular.
Remi Nicole
Cupid Shoot Me
Album: September 7th
Single: ‘Standing Tears Apart’ - August 31st
Label: Island Record
