Single Review: Mutya Keisha Siobhan – ‘Flatline’
3 min read
Mutya Buena, Keisha Buchanan and Siobhán Donaghy first formed chart-topping pop-trio, Sugababes way back at the end of the nineties and found international success following the release of their debut single, Overload.
Only a few singles into their career, Siobhan jumped ship on her fellow babes and it was from that point that the line-up was in constant refresh mode. Over the following few years both Mutya and Keisha also decided to either part ways with the group or were unceremoniously ousted by their fellow members.
12 years on from last recording and performing together, Mutya Buena, Keisha Buchanan and Siobhán Donaghy have decided to reunite and move forward under the title Mutya Keisha Siobhan and now that the trio are back and about to release their debut single in their new form, it really does make the existing Sugababes line-up seem a little redundant. Well, we think so anyway.
Flatline is the first Mutya Keisha Siobhan single to be taken from the groups soon-to-be-release debut album and it is a track that we have been teased with for quite a long time now so were eager to wrap our ears around the number as soon as it found its way out of the recording studio. Thankfully, it is every bit the killer comeback track that we had been hoping for.
The number is drenched in nostalgia right from the get go. As soon as Mutya spills her distinctively rich vocal tones over the opening verse we are taken back to the early years of the trio’s former unity. The hook comes within the tracks gorgeous, harmony driven chorus’ with a striking chord shift that helps give the track a durable and memorable quality. Siobhan, who hasn’t worked with the other girls for over 12 years, holds her own on the tracks closing bridge which puts a spotlight straight on to the singers whispery vocals and impressive range.
The track carries a deeply sentimental theme; a relationship that is slipping away and described so metaphorically and captivatingly in the songs chorus – “I can feel a flatline / There oughta be a wave” – as the girls engage in a game of heart-string tugging while Dev Hynes, responsible for penning previous hits for Solange Knowles and Diana Vickers, indulges in his trademark piano scented, guitar riff-fueled arrangements as he takes to the producers seat here.
Flatline is a track that leaves us salivating at the mere thought of a full length record. It’s both a spectacular return and a promising beginning for Mutya Keisha Siobhán which should find them swiftly back to the top spot where the group belong.
::: RenownedForSound.com’s Editor and Founder –
Interviewing and reviewing the best in new music and globally recognized artists is his passion.
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