New Music: Little Boots – Silver Balloons

UK electro-pop artist, producer, and DJ Little Boots (Victoria Hesketh) has announced that her next (self-produced) album will be released in 2022. The pure bop that is Silver Balloons gives us a delightful taste of what’s to come.

Those secret rehearsals with ABBA have rubbed off on the pristine pop sound we associate with Little Boots. Silver Balloons has an insistent yet enticingly understated quality to it. The hooks and lyrics insinuate rather than overpower, and Hesketh’s vocals top that with a performance that echoes the Swedish maestros perfectly formed happy-sad pop sound. If Silver Balloons is anything to go by, I won’t be surprised if Little Boots’ next album will be her best yet – quite a feat considering her musical pedigree.

“Silver Balloons is in many ways a metaphor for all the cancelled plans and parties of lockdown, all of the disappointments as one by one we watched many of our hopes and desires burst like shiny balloons at the end of the night. All we have left is each other; coming together and holding tight to hope is the way we have all seemed to get through the last couple of years.”

She goes on to say, “Sonically, I was listening to a lot of classic 70s songwriters during the making of this record while really putting the piano at the centre of everything, so you can hear echoes of Elton John, Carole King, The Bee Gees, even Wings. The piano and vocals in this track also really remind me of one of my all-time favourites Saint Etienne. I’m also especially proud of 100% writing and producing this record myself, and it being totally powered by my fans via their support on Patreon.”

Silver Balloons is out now via Little Boots’ imprint, On Repeat Records – click here for listening and download information. Little Boots plays London and Manchester in late October 2021 – you can find out more about tickets on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. You can get exclusive news and videos about the upcoming album on her Patreon account.

You can listen to Silver Balloons on our ‘adventures in leftfield pop’ Spotify playlist.

Photo by Patrick Balls