With the charts still dominated by meticulously-groomed boy bands and a production line of talentless former stage school brats, British pop has been getting a bad name over the past few years. But, if the genre's tarnished reputation is to be salvaged, then SNOWBLIND could be just the band to do it.

Singer Jane Murphy and multi-instrumentalist Paul Williams are a Northern duo who recall an era when pop meant something other than music conceived by some faceless Svengali and sold through a series of cynical marketing ploys. They make pop music sound like it should do: think of the sublime hooks of New Order or the cinematic sheen of John Barry, all wrapped up with sun-kissed melodies, fluent strings and distinctive Yorkshire vocals.

SNOWBLIND's debut single Easy Girl', taken from this summer's eagerly-anticipated Independiente album opener THE FALLS', is a perfect example of the marriage of pop stylings that Snowblind embrace.. "There are loads of different things in the music," says Liverpool-born Paul, who plays guitar and keyboards on the album. "Some music industry types might have a problem with that. But I don't think that any music fan will. If I hear two songs by the same band which sound different to each other, then I'd want to investigate their album."

The strength of the duo's songs is equally important to Jane, who originally hails from Wakefield in Yorkshire and admires classic British pop writers such as Kevin Rowland, Jarvis Cocker and Terry Hall for their ability to write "songs with a point, and lyrics that are succinct rather than merely poetic". Paul and Jane originally joined forces in Manchester and are still based in the city. He had made three independent singles with local group Swish, while Jane had fronted bands in Leeds before moving westwards. An abortive deal with Heavenly Records/EMI - the band, like several others, were shunted from the label before a note of music had hit the public consciousness- left the band high and dry late last year.

It wasn't long, however, before SNOWBLIND were being courted by a host of major labels and this summer Snowblind re-emerge fitter and stronger than ever. Alongside new labelmates Travis and So Solid Crew, they're now poised to show the genuine face of UK Pop music 2002.

Win the new Snowblind cd in our Inside music competition section

July 18, 2002 12:00