There’s A Fire Starting In My Heart

Around this time of year, music bloggers start squabbling about two things: who made the bloggiest albums of the year gone by, and who will yield the bloggiest albums of the year to come.

Three years ago, top of the list in the latter category was 19-year-old singer Adele, whose brand of 'blue eyed soul' was deemed most likely to be the next big thing. Sure enough, her debut album was met with critical acclaim and went on to shift millions of copies before earning her two Grammy awards, including the highly coveted Best New Artist award.

I never quite understood the hype and, although could appreciate that she was obviously talented, had her earmarked as 'not my thing'. These past few weeks, however, as morsels of her forthcoming sophomore album, 21, have been surfacing, I've found myself completely gripped by her music.

First came 'Rolling In The Deep', which the singer herself has described as a “dark bluesy gospel disco tune”. Pounding drumbeats and handclaps underscore the almighty vocal delivery and repeat listens draw you further and further in.



Next came the startling 'Someone Like You', a heartwrenching ode to lost love that sent shivers running down the back of my neck when I first heard her pitch-perfect performance on Later... With Jools Holland.



I've been fortunate enough to snatch a sneak preview of the album in full and can happily report that it is one of the first truly great albums of 2011.

The unsung hero of The xx, Jamie xx, put together this incredible remix of 'Rolling In The Deep', which although apparently will never see the light of day other than this poor quality rip, adds another dimension to my appreciation of the track.

Adele - Rolling In The Deep (Jamie xx Remix)



These are two fairly old remixes that I've revisited the past few days. Both great:

Adele - Hometown Gory (High Contrast Remix)



Adele - Hometown Glory (Chewy Chocolate Cookies Remix)