Isabella Coulstock - Trouble

Having nailed things so perfectly with her available at Gigs only EP - we now have the official debut single from Isabella Coulstock with "Trouble". Her recent live sows have been a revelation, and "Trouble" was premiered at the last Green Note show where even in a stripped acoustic format it did have the feel of an attempt to make a much more modern sound.

There are plenty of positives to be taken from the single so let's start there.First of all Isabella naturally sounds magnificent, self assured and confident there was really never likely to be a problem there and her extra attention to backing vocals is great.

The song itself has vibrant summery feel - we have Isabella meeting the person she later describes as "Not good for nothing" with whom she will gradually become more interested in.

"I'm talking fast, leaned in close

You're all that I want to know about -

So I'm going to listen slow"

There's a rapid infatuation, perfectly captured in the lyrics

"While they're drinking, I'm sinking into your every word

and who knows where it's going - I just want to get there first"

The chorus apart from one feature we'll mention later is choc full of hooks and it is good to hear the way Isabella almost duets with the repeated "troubles"

There's a nice bridge section which adds an extra dimension to the song

"Too much fun too give up

Too many highs to think twice"

There is no getting round the fact that there are a couple of elements that do slightly jar and lessen the overall effect. The first is the initial "Trouble" at the start of each chorus - which is either a man or Isabella's voice slowed down to make her voice sound deeper. The second is the over abundance of synths and drum machines used throughout some of which seem a little lifeless at times.

So with a few quibbles it is great to see Isabella's music out in the big wide world available everywhere - she has so much material, so many styles and so much to offer that her trajectory is only going in one direction.