During the heady days of the electro revival a few years back, Anita Blay — aka CocknBullKid — looked set to make her mark. I saw her in Sheffield in 2008, where she won over a fractious crowd with nervous charm and a distinctive brand of stomping, instantly catchy electro. An appearance on British music show Later… With Jools Holland happened at around the same time, along with several nods to her talent in end-of-year ‘ones to watch’ lists. Then – nothing.
Luckily for us, she’d gone nowhere. Taking time out to rethink her sound and sign to Moshi Moshi, she burst back on to the scene with an impressive debut album, Adulthood, in April this year. With her brutally honest, self-deprecating lyrics, quirky visual style and sense of fun, she’s a cut above the usual pop-electro hybrids. The video for single “One Eye Closed” says it all — brilliant and bonkers. Watch and love.