How To Steal The World

Dundee-born multi-instrumentalist Jackie Joyce is Helicopter Girl. Born of Scottish-Ghanian parents. Joyce wanders through genres as if picking a wardrobe, from the funk-lite of '345 Wonderful' to the tribal heartbeat of 'It's Not Fetish' or the more freeform eerie drone of 'Powder', and she doesn't embarrass herself doing so.

Opener, 'Escape Cloud', is a predominantly acoustic offering, with Joyce's soulful voice coming over all sensuous and sultry, while the music grooves along slowly in the background.

'Individual's hypnotic sultry swing is not a million miles away from the seductive rasp of a certain Ms Gray, with Helicopter Girl's tones informing us how she "can't control chaos, I simply can't/I can't console the very nature of a man/Life revolving round and round the sun/Don't got not reason, get a picture baby". What it means I couldn't begin to tell you, but it's delivered by a lady who oozes effortless cool.

Current single 'Subliminal Punk' is the kind of brash, funked-up pop that former Spices would trade their hair extensions for, with a string section thrown in for the full widescreen, panoramic effect. In contrast, 'Johni The Dog' sounds so intimate and warm it could have been recorded by an open fire in a one-room cottage, albeit in LA.

Prinstinely produced and effortlessly trendy, Joyce is liable to come in for a few pot shots for appealing to the coffee table soul fan. Still, I found it impossible to dislike, even though it's not my usual shot of rock'n'roll mayhem.

How To Steal The World is relaxes, unfussed, sassy, loungey and ultra-hip, and if I had one of those nouveau-cool designer pads, it would probably be a semi-permanent feature on my stereo.