The late, lamented Sandy Denny once prepared for her vocal on Fairport Convention's folk/psych classic "A Sailor's Life" by swallowing honey and lemon and chain-smoking Embassy No.6.
It looks as though her unorthodox methods have finally been emulated by KELIS here, however, as the feisty vocalist swallowed a huge spoon of chillies to sort out her heavy cold on arrival at Timo Maas's Hanover studio.
There was obviously a method to her madness, however, as "Help Me" is both effective and satisfying, marrying a noir-ish, Portishead-style vibe and ice maiden vocals to the kind of swerving, stylish beat that never really goes out of fashion.
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"Help Me" arrives with the requisite remix package with both DEEP DISH (of DIDO reworking fame) and KRUST & DIE doing their exquisitely-styled thang. It has to be said that neither are entirely essential, though.
Still, "Help Me" follows nicely in the footsteps of both "To Get Down" and "Shifter" and proves once again that uber-modern dancefloor moves and cool, sinewy pop aren't at all mutually exclusive. More power to Timo.
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