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In 77 and 69 revolution was in the air. Same goes for 2006. There’s a new voice on the scene and she goes by the name of Sandi Thom, a Scottish singer-songwriter from Macduff in Aberdeenshire. Originally released towards the end of 2005, “Ï wish I was a Punk Rocker” didn’t register as a hit with UK listeners. Then rereleased in May 2006, it kicked Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy” from the top position on the singles charts, followed by a Number 1 selling debut album.
There’s an interesting story behind how Sandi Thom got noticed. Instead of driving to gigs up and down the country with her band as she had done for years, she bought a webcam, and announced a run of 21 shows to be performed on consecutive nights during February and March in the basement of her flat. The half-hour shows were to be broadcast, free of charge, via her website at www.sandithom.com. The first night, 70 people tuned in to watch, the next night it went up to 670. And by the middle of the second week she was performing to a peak audience of 70,000. Now there’s a bit of trivia that will knock those know-it-all Noot-vir-Noot contestants out. The lead single is backed by one of the best music videos of the year and I find myself stopping whatever I’m busy doing to watch it every time it airs on MTV or MK89.
Follow-up single is “What if I’m Right,” a song she describes as some healthy cynicism at the start of a new relationship with lyrics like “You’ll be true and be faithful too but I got my doubts.” The problem with the album is that none of the other songs have BIG HIT written over them… not bad songs, it’s just that Sandi set the standard so high with Punk Rocker that she’s going to battle maintaining the standard. That being said, it’s a great album to listen to with an innocent, unobstrusive folksy feel and sound with not one single track making you reach for the SKIP button. It’s always nice welcoming a new artist on the scene… and by the sounds of this, she’s not going to outstay her welcome any time soon.
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