Candie Payne
With her debut 'I Wish I Could Have Loved You More' Liverpudlian singer Candie Payne has created one of those 'time machine' albums that takes you back to another era - in this case the 1960s.This is a record which, you'll feel, should've only come out on vinyl - the mix of love, heartbreak and defiance deserving nothing but a stylus between it and you.The youngest in a family of six who had two brothers in bands, Payne wanted a career in fashion when she left school but it was after she began working in a clothes shop in Liverpool that the music bug really took hold. Meeting DJs and musicians and soaking up influences from the in-house sound system, Payne then began to get involved in bands herself. She joined indie group Tramp Attack and was with a jazz outfit for a while before striking out on her own with the help of producer and co-writer Simon Dine.The man behind the classy Noonday Underground project, Dine has in the past produced Paul Weller and worked magic with Payne on 'I Wish I Could Have Loved You More'.It's one of those rare albums that you could borrow from your parents or vice versa, a beautifully recorded collection which moves you even more during the small or lonely hours. Filled with drama and intrigue from start to finish, it suggests that Payne could be a real musical force and inspiration in the future. Remember, if she can achieve this at 24, imagine what a few more years experience will yield.