Foxy Brown

If you get motion sickness easily, then pop some Dramamine before listening to Brit bopper V V Brown’s energetic debut Travelling Like the Light (on iTunes today). A drum roll and a high-pitched squeal are the first sounds we hear, and then she’s off and running before we’ve even registered the opening shot.
 

For the first six songs, this U.K. child of Caribbean parentage style-hops from boogie-woogie ("Quick Fix") to Motown psychedelica ("Game Over") to the doo-wop frenzy of "LEAVE!" And "L.O.V.E." could jitterbug rings around the Stray Cats’ sad old rockabilly strut. She takes a breather for a song or two — the quiet storm of "I Love You" shows she could have Anita Baker’s career if she wanted — then continues her reinvention of genre in a style that she’s called "musical mashed-potatoes." (It’s on Wikipedia, so it must be true.)
 

At 27 years old, she’s been a model for Vogue and a co-songwriter for, among others, The Pussycat Dolls. Through it all, she’s retained her playful edge without breaking a sweat. It’s not only peers like Santigold and Noisettes that V V’s poised to outpace. Light itself better start traveling faster if it intends to keep up.

 

Travelling Like the Light is available exclusively on iTunes today and on CD March 30 from Capitol Records.