Posted by Maura Johnston on 01/12/2011 at 2:32 PM Reviews

The Popdust Files: Keisha Buchanan, leaks, sugababes

Founding Sugababe Keisha Buchanan has been quiet on the musical front since her abrupt exit from the British girl group in the fall of 2009. But today, a demo of the blippy, glittery pop tune “Under Control,” and even in its not-quite-finished state, it sizzles.

“Under Control” fuses a deep, “Poker Face”-like groove with bedroom-pop electro effects in a way that recalls Buchanan’s former group’s monster first single “Overload.” (That’s one of the best singles of the ’00s, by the way, so if you’re not familiar, clicky click.) “I’m so cool without you, yeah / I don’t need no stress, get you out of here,” she sings on the song’s chorus—and even though the song’s operating within a romantic conceit, after her abrupt exit from the group last year it’s hard not to hear such sentiments as a semi-veiled shots at her former bandmates. (Perhaps they will reply on their forthcoming greatest-hits album, although they should probably get to re-recording the group’s catalog so that the current lineup will be represented on more than 12.5% of the record’s songs.) And the bridge, during which Buchanan drops truth-bombs over a pumping beat, should inspire many a dance-floor throwdown. Who knows? Maybe the diamond-in-the-roughness of this song is a sign that Buchanan will break in the States, something that unfairly eluded the ‘Babes for the whole of their career.

POPDUST SAYS:

[starreview tpl=16]

4 BOLTS