Yasmin feat. Shy FX & Ms Dynamite - Light Up (The World)

Yasmin - the pop shapeshifter, songstress of mystique. Taken side by side, previous single Finish Line and Light Up The World couldn't be more different. The former was the most precise, clinical of pop records, packing a killer hook. But Light Up The World, a collab with veterans Shy FX and Ms Dynamite feels like an unfortunate step backwards.

The hooks are hidden beneath a heap of dubby bass and reggae stabs - they're in there somewhere, glimmering through in the odd moment, but never is there the proud, open glory of Finish Line.

Ultimately, it depends what you want from Yasmin - Light Up The World is definitively the uber-cool hipster track, the dance-inflected 'experimental' number to thrill the DJs. But those that saw the makings of an icy pop princess in Finish Line and On My Own will be left disappointed.

Light Up The World feels like a trippy lapse back into the smoke-clouded past - a snapshot into shisha houses and squalid 90s concrete'n'denim, chemical worlds of a more laid-bare age. In the here and now, for all its merits, it lacks the precision to truly compete.

(That said, the Freemasons mix is exceptional - a thing of real beauty, and with just the right touch of added clubland 'bite')

Light Up The World is released on the 16th January.

Yasmin - Finish Line

I have to say, Finish Line has somewhat crept up on me. It's only now, on its week of release that its suddenly just hit me, that moment all truly great songs have, where everything suddenly clicks and you realise what an amazing piece of pop mastery you're dealing with.

Yasmin represents one of the brightest stars in UK music this year and what I love most about her is she's doing completely her own thing - and in a market getting increasingly crowded with strong, independent female vocalists - that more than works in her favour. She comes too with an inherent sense of style and credibility, painted for all to see on the cover art of her singles. Model-like in her fragile beauty, there's also a fiery determination behind it all that seems to leap from that exclamation mark daubed in pink paint.

Finish Line's real strength comes in its timeless quality - by incorporating a little bit of this, a little bit of that, it somehow sounds like everything and nothing at once. 80s synths in the chorus, those lush, Massive Attack beats that made On My Own so lovely, the glossy 21st century production - the track as a whole could slip effortlessly into the musical landscape of anywhere in the past three decades. Just when you think the song is going down one avenue, it takes a right turn and shoots off on another tangent, culminating in that immensely uplifting chorus line.

It's here too that you realise what an incredibly talented vocalist Yasmin is. She has one of those voices that never allows the track to become dominant - those vocals remain clear and pure from the very start to, pardon the pun, the Finish Line. Part passionate clubland diva, part airy pop princess, Yasmin's vocals draw the best from both these camps.

As I write this, Finish Line stands in the top 15 on iTunes, testament to the all encompassing appeal the track possesses. So many try and fail to touch base on a wide range of musical scenes in an effort to achieve mass popularity. You can't blame them for want of trying, but it's a damn hard thing to do.

What makes Yasmin and Finish Line so beautifully wonderful is that they do this without even breaking sweat. The cool is effortless, the appeal is pure charm. No pretentiousness or sense of strained egos here, only the sound of definite quality and an assured smash hit.

Finish Line is available to download on iTunes now.

New releases round-up - 8th May 2011

Alex Metric & Steve Angello feat. Ian Brown - Open Your Eyes

One of the best dance tracks I've heard in years and with a brilliant guest vocals spot from ex-Stone Roses frontman Ian Brown. Immensely uplifting and with a real punch to it, it also comes with a Rocky inspired video where a boxing robot punches off a guy's head.

Download

The Pierces - Glorious

More psychedelic 70s influenced fare from the pretty American sisters, this time with a religious twist. Glorious makes it three in the row for the duo as they show once again what an ear for melody and soothing harmonies they have.

Download

Yasmin - Finish Line

Feisty urban attitude and soulful Massive Attack vibes on Yasmin's second single. A strong, passionate follow-up to On My Own; this channels the same kinds of sounds and feelings, but with added epic-ness. A real star in the making.

Download

Hurts - Better Than Love (Freemasons Pegasus Mix)

Pegasus? What an amazing name for a remix! And while this re-work by the ever-wonderful Freemasons might not have anything to do with mythological animals, it injects Hurts' best single with real dancefloor staying power in this re-release. My favourite bit is the Godly sounding synth instrumental bit half-way through - pure heaven.

Download

Yasmin - On My Own

Over the past couple of years the music industry saw a massive ‘80s revival’ of sorts with acts like La Roux and Little Boots filling the charts with synth-heavy pop. But it could be that now a 90s revival lies in wait too? It seems almost unthinkable, the 90s almost too recent for such a revival to even happen. But happening it seems to be; from Brit-Pop laced indie bands to dance tracks that hark back to the early 90s.

One such track is Yasmin’s hypnotic On My Own, which comes across like the younger sister of Massive Attack’s sublime Unfinished Sympathy. The vocals are beautiful, touched with a kind of emotive quality that is missing from so many singers these days. Most importantly, it is a voice that is equally at home in a dance or pop setting. It’s this mutability that marks Yasmin out as a real star that can hold sway in both the pop charts and dancefloors around the country.

You may recognise Yasmin from when she features on Devil’s Runaway, another classic example of the moving overtones in her voice. When she sings, you believe every word. Hailing from Glasgow, Yasmin has previously DJ’d on Radio station 1Xtra – now, turning her hand to her own music, we can more than believe she’ll make it on her own.

On My Own is available to download on iTunes now.