Katlow - Gorgeous/57 Manchester Road

Consider how sharing a few vowels with another vocalist is enough to be condemned to a lifetime of unfair comparisons, and it’s unsurprising that most singers ditch their regional accent in favour of the transatlantic standard. Such is the quandary with Katlow, who apparently sounds enough like Alex Turner to warrant ‘girly Arctic Monkey’ labelling. In fairness, Katlow’s music sounds more like stage songs; Gorgeous bustles with West End enthusiasm, and 57 Manchester Road - a tale of X-Factor victims - is more Blood Brothers than cheeky observation. Her songs may not be to the edgier listener’s tastes, but Katlow proves that her talent deserves to be assessed on individual merit.