The Retro-tastic Robin Sparkles

Over the past few weeks here at The Pop Web we've become absolutely obsessed with emerging young artist Robin Sparkles. After having carved out a cult following in her native Canada, Sparkles is attempting to crack the lucrative US market with her unique brand of retro-pop.

Front and centre in the Sparkles back catalogue is the infectious Let's Go To The Mall. Look past the somewhat trite, bubblegum lyrics ("Everybody come and play/ Throw every last care away") and the nationalistic jingoism and Sparkles has actually managed to effortlessly recapture the spirit and energy which pervaded (for example) Madonna's eponymous debut album.

Madge's influences on this track are, to the trained ear, self-evident. The chorus in particular calls to mind Holiday whilst the track as a whole would sit quite comfortably alongside tracks like Borderline or Lucky Star. So far so good, but you may well be wondering why we'd need someone like Sparkles dredging up memories of the Queen of Pop, when her back catalogue more than speaks for itself.

Enter Sparkles' follow-up effort, Sandcastles In The Sand, quickly helps dispel any doubts about Sparkle's versatility and also testifies to her burgeoning popularity across the pond. Recruiting Dawson's Creek star James Van der Beek and veteran Canadian actor Alan Thicke for the video, Sparkles' sophomore effort brings to mind the seminal Circle In The Sand video by Pop Web favourite Belinda Carlisle.

Vocally, Sparkles is on top form, particularly in the middle eight when she mournfully laments "Life is crazy/nobody gets me/castles wash away". Clearly underpinning the veneer of 80s nostalgia, Sparkles possesses an admirable ability to connect with the song's emotion with her vocal delivery. "Sandcastles" acts as a refreshing complement to Let's Go To The Mall, by showing off her impressive vocal range, whilst also refusing to shy away from the retro styling which has so effectively captivated the music-buying public in Canada. 

To be sure, there is a lot to work on here. We'd very much like Sparkles move out of her comfort zone and see her take on songs which have a little more emotional maturity to them rather than pandering to trite teenage clichés. But what these initial tracks show us is that Sparkles is loaded with potential, and if her recent relocation to New York City is handled correctly, Dominant Records could well be responsible for launching pop's next great superstar. And that's not something we say lightly.