Like there's a love you can't even buy

(Major thanks to a commenter for getting me to go back and give this song a second chance!)

All Girls In Hollywood

Silly, silly me.

The first time I heard Latvian singer Ladybird's new single, I brushed it off--as far as female-sung Latvian pop-dance goes, I was far more excited by DJ Ella's "Shine Like A Superstar," which at that point I didn't own but had heard playing on her MySpace a while ago. I basically viewed "All Girls In Hollywood," which is presumably leading into Ladybird's third album, as fantastic production or backing music on a song that wasn't worthy of it.

Now, though, I've become a lot more positive about the slick pop-dance track--it's fantastic. I wonder if it was the accented vocals that first hid its quality from me? Anyway, at the very least, the instrumental--try to imagine it--would be amazing. There's so much to love about it: the build-up during the first verse--starting with beeps and some percussion and then with a racing beat joining in around 0:19--and then that exhilarating actual instrumental bit at 0:33, especially from :41, that sounds like it's designed for being played in a giant stadium packed full of cheering people and someone going crazy on a guitar (no, there are no crowd noises, and yes, the fast guitar part is subdued and very much a part of the dance music mix, but it's so...grand that I can't help making those comparisons), and then that chorus with its electro bubbles and little '80's synth touches. Just instrumentally, if you ignore the vocal part, it's not a million miles away from Holly Valance's second album, is it? Excellent composing (and production, I assume) work by Modris Skaistkalns.

I'm still not entirely positive that the vocal part lives up to the potential of that backing track--problem with the singer or the vocal melody itself? I'm not sure; I kind of really want someone to cover this now to help me figure that out--but I'm open to changing my mind on that (in fact, I'm already going back and forth and could very well end up seeing no problems with it and regretting any earlier criticism) and that's not stopping me from really enjoying "All Girls In Hollywood" at the moment. It's really vital that you've got headphones that let you hear the pumping of that background music, though (and to turn the volume up if you can)--it's that that makes this song so exciting. This is by far the best thing Ladybird's ever done--I really hope she continues in this direction for the album because that would really make it one of the year's most exciting pop-dance releases.

To buy Ladybird's new single "All Girls In Hollywood," go here (digital) or here (digital).

Next up: maybe something American. Or British.