The worst thing about the Noisettes is that it’s not pronounced Frenchly, as per a bar of hazelnut chocolate. And the best thing is Shoniwa, the super-sinuous circus-trained lead singer whose voice is almost as elastic as her body. Deconstructing her style is challenging, because it’s a moving target: playsuits, skirtsuits, hotpants, catsuits – the theme is that there isn’t one. She finds a look that works, tears it up, starts again. Only her hair (big) remains constant.
Comparison-wise, Grace Jones gets wheeled out when music writers try to sublimate her appeal, but we detect echoes of another constantly shifting pop enigma: Madonna.