Introducing Wrathschild

No, no, no.

Not Wrathchild. Wrathschild.

There, that's better.

Wrathschild are Wolfy (left, real name Ro Danishei) and Simon Curtis (right, wearing a crown), who've been hovering on the periphery of major pop stardom as solo artists for the last five years. They've been friends since they were 14, but only started writing together in earnest two years ago.

It's all been kept under wraps until this week, when their debut single, Fall In Love, premiered on Billboard. And it is quite simply one of the best-produced pop songs I've heard in a long time: 3'38" of crashing production and quivering synths, with a tongue-in-cheek lyric about the lack of romance in pop lyrics. "My morning breath and your walk of shame don't get my heart racing," notes Curtis, drily.

Instead, the duo want a prom night love story, "just like an 80s movie". So, naturally, the middle 8 takes the form of a nonsensical African chant (in the best traditions of Lionel Ritchie and Dream Academy) before the final chorus explodes like the fireworks at the end of Grease.

It all points to a couple of songwriters who are steeped in pop history and know their way around the dynamics of a hit single (on this evidence, they could even be this generation's George Merrill and Shannon Rubicam). I'll be interested to hear how things go from here...


PS: "Sex will forever be on our minds. Well, I want the real thing, just like an 80s movie". I wonder which 80s movie they've been watching? Presumably 9½ Weeks, not Weekend at Bernies.

PPS: I would pay good money to hear 80s hair metal band Wrathchild cover this song.

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