Having previously impressed as guest vocalist on tracks by Count & Sinden and Magnetic Man – a version of the latter collaboration is included here – Katy B steps up to take the lead role on her debut album On A Mission. Born Kathleen Brien, the South London gal is often associated with dubstep, but it would be difficult to draw a straight line between the music featured here and purer examples of the genre. The atmospherics aren’t quite as doomy, nor the bass rumble nearly cavernous enough. Rather, dubstep is just one element on a record which bends various musical styles – funky house, UK garage, R&B, grime – to its pop-focused will.
Cooing sweetly one moment, murmuring coquettishly the next, Katy B adds an appropriately soulful veneer to the material. Meanwhile, Rinse label and station boss Geeneus, DJ Zinc and Benga have all assisted with the writing and production duties, buffing up the commercial potential of tracks such as ‘Movement’ and ‘Easy Please Me’, whilst ensuring there is enough innovation and quirkiness to retain street credibility. But while others help shape the sound, the sensibility is all Katy B.
Almost every song is about that little game we call love, from the effervescent opener ‘Power On Me’, on which she laments a relationship which is more about control than affection, to the clattering electro-pop of ‘Witches Brew’, on which she transforms from submissive to seductive. “Come with me I’ll make you feel so good,” she vows. It’s an offer you are urged to take her up on.