Already Been Here Too Many Times Before

It's strange to think it's almost a year since concrete information about the 'original' Sugababes reunion began to surface. It was a few months until Mutya Keisha and Siobhan officially confirmed that they were reforming under the dubious moniker Mutya Keisha Siobhan.

Since then, there have been assurances that we would hear new material "very soon" and vague details of collaborations with a mouth-watering roster of artists and producers, including Dev Hynes, Shaznay Lewis, Cameron McVey, Emeli Sandé, Naughty Boy, Richard X, William Orbit and MNEK.

However, the closest we've come to new material has been an 'a capella' version of a track called 'Boys' uploaded in January. Until now, that is.



Today, man-of-the-moment Devonté Hynes uploaded a track to his Soundcloud that sees Mutya Keisha Siobhan put a spin on Kendrick Lamar's signature tune 'Swimming Pools (Drank)'. A veritable feast for the ears, the supposedly spur-of-the-moment studio cut is reason enough to get excited all over again at the prospect of a new album from these ladies.

For one thing, all three sound in full voice and their vocals blend together just as harmoniously as they did on their first and only album 'One Touch' over a decade ago. Furthermore, Siobhan's solo on the middle eight harks back to the best of her own solo material and suggests that a democratic approach to the new album may pay dividends.

The Return of Shanghai Nobody

As pop-outfit Sugababes continue to shuffle their line-up iike a premiership football team, they're likely to be hogging some headlines in the red-tops and glossies this week.

One morsel of information that's unlikely to be afforded any coverage is the announcement by former member Siobhan Donaghy that she is returning to music after a two year hiatus.

Donaghy was part of the original Sugababes line-up and performed lead vocals on their breakthrough single 'Overload'. After acrimoniously departing from the group in 2001, Siobhan began to carve out a musical path that was drastically different from that of her former band-mates.

Siobhan's debut solo album 'Revolution in Me' won plaudits from critics but didn't shift many copies, leading her to 'part ways' with her record label. A follow-up album, 'Ghosts', received even more plaudits from critics but fared even less well commercially, resulting in Siobhan being dropped by yet another label.

Despite insisting that she was unlikely to ever make another album, it seems Donaghy has been working on some new music. With acts like Bat For Lashes and Florence and the Machine blazing a trail for alt-pop purveyors right now, maybe Siobhan will be greeted with a less apathetic reaction from the record-buying public. Maybe not.

God knows how long we'll have to wait for the new material to see the light of day but, in the meantime, if you haven't already acquainted yourself with 'Ghosts', I suggest you do so.