One Touch

The three 16 year-old girls who met at a party a couple of years ago have become one of the UK’s brighest MOBO hopes, as evidenced by their smash hit ‘Overload’.

That these girls are only teenagers is incredible – this is just so much more adult than the wailings of Britney, Jessica and Mandy. This is dirty.

One Touch has much in common with some US acts however, but we’re talking En Vogue, Destiny’s Child and TLC as opposed to their, uh, paler, imitations. ‘One Foot In’ is standard US R‘n’B with a clunky-funky groove, ‘Same Old Story’ is a slightly more two-step offering, while ‘Just Let It Go’ is the first time the girls show their age with a twee lickle story of lost love ("As soon as you get over him your life will truly shine…") but possessed of a curiously effective vocal break.

‘Soul Sound’ sees them experiment with a genre that’s closer to the standard pop-rock ballad stalwart, and not surprisingly it doesn’t work quite so well; mind you, it’ll probably be the next single.

The title track is a sparse-starting groove that proves that at least one of these girls has a stunning set of pipes, before we’re back in familiar territory with the loungy-garage of the aptly-named ‘Lush Life’. Luscious.

‘Real Thing’ is a song that could be weighted and dropped into the Atlantic, and it would still rise to the Top 10 in the UK charts. ‘New Year’ is a shameless attempt at a January hit.

Credible R’n’B ably performed and occasionally quite touching. Aaah! Now can I have an interview?