Diana Vickers - The Boy Who Murdered Love - Single review

After claiming a #1 single with her debut release, the increasingly sultry Diana Vickers prepares to release the follow up - The Boy Who Murdered Love - on July 12. It's the second track from Vickers' debut album Songs From The Tainted Cherry Tree.

I love it. There's a notion that too much of Diana's voice might not be a particularly good thing, but she acquits herself beautifully here. The song's a playfully exaggerated - and quite teenagey - take on a girl with a broken heart. She fires accusations at the fictional heartbreaker: "you're the king of pain and hurt", as animated arrows hit her in the chest.

This all plays out to a great disco beat, making it refreshingly different to Once - it's nice to see that there's no particular formula in effect here. I find myself loving more and more the back-to-basics pop approach. It's a direct contrast to the groin-in-your-face oversexed pop pap that's being shoved down our throats by bigger names than Diana, and it's actually pleasant to see a fresh-faced teenager releasing fun music.

Even this, with its cartoon vilification of an ex-boyfriend carries a quirky, clever lyric and the previously mentioned disco beat. More power to Miss Vickers, I hope she has another #1 with this single to. Sucks to be you Rihanna, Christina, Gaga, etc.