JAVELYNN
‘Chimera At Heart'
OUT OF LINE

With her vocal chords having previously serviced Ashbury Heights, Yaz is a recognizable voice within the synthpop genre. Now with new cohorts Elle and Johan in tow, Yaz is setting out to assert herself anew with the ferociously titled ‘Chimera At Heart'. But is it all bark and no bite?

From the opening of the mainstream flirtations of ‘Wanabe' it is easy to hear the skill and craftsmanship that has gone into this album. The mix of high-energy dance beats, pop melodies and the added craziness of electroclash and ebm is the perfect musical foil for Yaz's voice. The end result is something akin to Lady Gaga... but with talent rather than a cellophane-wrapped sense of stardom over substance.
This is perhaps best illustrated on tracks like ‘Die Young', ‘Morphine', 'Oh Dear' and ‘This Song Is Not About You' which all demonstrate solid fundamental pop-song writing without resorting to the hollow tricks that faceless producers regularly pump into the top forty.

‘Chimera At Heart' is geared towards a chart assault that should work out well in more open markets such as Germany or Scandanavia. But for the rest of the world where synthpop and pop music are still two very different beasts there is still enough underground charm to ensure Javelnn's place on the usual dance floors.

[3/5]