Sophie Ellis-Bextor is stable as a table.
It’s been well over a year now since the Kitchen Disco diva vaulted back up the charts worldwide thanks to the inclusion of her timeless classic “Murder on the Dancefloor” in the soundtrack of the movie Saltburn. (I still haven’t seen it, but thank you to Barry Keoghan for burning the salt and dancing around naked and lapping up Jacob Elordi‘s cummy bath water, and/or whatever else happened.)
In that time, SEB’s reached unimaginable new heights over 25 years deep into her career, from her first-ever headlining trek across North America to performing on Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve.
And, just as any seasoned pop star should do upon experiencing sudden global recognition again (see also: the summer of “Padam”), Sophie seized the moment, signed a deal with Universal, and twirled her way back into the recording studio to work on her eighth studio album.
She released the BiffCo co-produced disco stormer “Freedom of the Night” in October, followed by the joyously lush “Relentless Love” at the end of March.
And as a special surprise, she’s supplied us with a stunning third single from the forthcoming set on Friday (April 25), “Vertigo.”
Naturally, hearing that the song was called “Vertigo” thrust me into a Liza Minnelli-as-vertigo-prone-Lucille Austero Arrested Development spiral. How grand! How terribly grand!
But back to SEB.
Produced by James Greenwood (AKA Ghost Culture), who has worked with Kelly Lee Owens, Alison Goldfrapp (The Love Invention) and Foxes (The Kick), the song’s swirling, whirling pulsations harken back to the days of Make a Scene.
It’s no surprise, either: the song was written with the relentlessly reliable pop scribe Hannah Robinson, who penned the almighty “Bittersweet” among several other songs on Sophie’s perfect 2011 record.
“You know I can’t straight think or sleep at night, I’m at the mercy of the rush,” she proclaims before plunging into that love-dizzy chorus. “You give me vertigo!” (Even that mixed-up phrasing – “I can’t straight think” – is a brilliant disoriented touch.) The dramatic strings are a beaut too, especially during the song’s dramatic bridge – a much-needed balm at a time when bridges in pop are critically endangered.
The album is shaping up to be Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s most full-on collection of bangers in over a decade. Trip the light fantastic…but watch your step.
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