New in Town (song) explained

New in Town
Cover:LittleBootsNewInTown.jpg
Type:single
Artist:Little Boots
Album:Hands
B-Side:New in Town (No One Is Safe – Alex Kapranos Remix)
Recorded:Echo Studios
(Los Angeles, California)
Genre:Electropop
Length:3:19
Producer:Greg Kurstin
Prev Title:Meddle
Prev Year:2008
Next Title:Remedy
Next Year:2009

"New in Town" is the debut single by English recording artist Little Boots from her debut studio album, Hands (2009). Written by Little Boots and Greg Kurstin and produced by Kurstin, the track was released as the album's lead single on 25 May 2009 in the United Kingdom.[1] The song was inspired by the nights Little Boots spent in Los Angeles recording the album. "New in Town" debuted on the UK Singles Chart at number thirteen.

Background and writing

"New in Town" was the first song composed by Little Boots and Greg Kustin in Los Angeles while recording songs for her debut album. According to Little Boots, the song is about "being a stranger in a strange place which is fun but also has a dark side, and someone showing you around and in the end just kind of letting go."[2] While in Los Angeles, Little Boots felt isolated and lonely. She primarily drew inspiration for the track's lyrics from several strange individuals she met and the "seedy side of life" in the city.[3] She chose to release the track as the album's lead single because "it's very bold and colourful and doesn't really sound like anything else out there."[2]

Release

In the United Kingdom, "New in Town" was added to the BBC Radio 1 C List on 23 April 2009.[4] In May 2009, the song was added to the BBC Radio 1 A List.[5]

The song appears on the official soundtrack to the 2009 American comedy horror film Jennifer's Body,[6] as well as on the second episode of the second season of 90210 (which used the Fred Falke remix),[7] the first episode of the fourth season of Friday Night Lights,[8] the eighteenth episode of the fourth season of Ugly Betty[9] and the twenty-second episode of Mercy.[10] The song was also featured in the promo for the final season of The Hills.

Critical reception

"New in Town" received generally positive reviews from music critics. In a review for Digital Spy, Nick Levine called the song an "electropop nugget" that "is sure to get us all stomping."[11] Fraser McAlpine of the BBC Chart Blog opined that the song is "a little bit 'Take Me Out' by Franz Ferdinand and it's a little bit 'The World Should Revolve Around Me' by Little Jackie, only refracted through Booty's bassquake synthpop prism and suitably kaleidoscopic as a result."[12] Michael Cragg of musicOMH deemed the song to be "a real grower" and compared it to Goldfrapp.[13] Clash critic Joe Zadeh commented that the track "gathers energetic momentum and is delivered with the sassy nonchalance that made Santogold so intriguing."[14] Gareth Grundy of The Observer disagrees, writing that the song will "work", but that "something's missing—her."[15] Virgin Group gave "New in Town" a rave review, referring to it as "a fantastic electro synth-fused pop record, with the catchy-ness of any chart-topping dance floor classic with an edgy attitude to match", and also noted that "[w]hilst it may be more straightforward pop than some of her previous efforts it is nonetheless a very impressive effort and fairly unique in comparison to the current chart."[16] K. Ross Hoffman of Allmusic praised the song's "brash and buzzy strut" and described it as "absolutely massive-sounding".[17] Andrzej Lukowski of Drowned in Sound felt that the song "is just too perky, feeling both formulaic and calculating, its chorus combining a Radio 1-stupid hands-in-the-air sentiment."[18] Giving the song a six out of ten rating, Pitchfork Media's Ryan Dombal stated that Little Boots "needs to chill on the chirp[y]" vocals.[19]

Commercial performance

"New in Town" debuted and peaked at number thirteen on the UK Singles Chart, where it spent thirteen non-consecutive weeks altogether in the top one hundred.[20] The track debuted on the Irish Singles Chart at number seventeen,[21] peaking at number sixteen two weeks later.

Music video

The music video was directed by Jake Nava in April 2009.[22] It was filmed in Los Angeles and features Little Boots and a group of dancers wandering and dancing under a highway overpass.[23] The video begins with Little Boots driving around Los Angeles in the back of a car. She is then shown wandering around under a highway overpass in a blue dress and dancing with a group of homeless people. This is followed by scenes of rival gangs dancing and young indie couples making out in their cars.

Track listings

UK CD single[24]
  1. "New in Town" (Radio Edit) – 3:07
UK 7" single[24]
  • A1. "New in Town" – 3:29
  • B1. "New in Town" (No One Is Safe – Alex Kapranos Remix) – 5:22
    UK 12" single[24]
  • A1. "New in Town" – 3:29
  • A2. "New in Town" (A1 Bassline Remix) – 5:25
  • B1. "New in Town" (The Golden Filter Remix) – 6:30
  • B2. "New in Town" (Den Haan Remix) – 5:14
    UK iTunes EP
    1. "New in Town" (Bimbo Jones Remix) – 5:47
    2. "New in Town" (Fred Falke Remix) – 7:28
    3. "New in Town" (The Death Set Remix) – 2:10
    4. "New in Town" (No One Is Safe – Alex Kapranos Remix) – 5:22
    US iTunes remix EP
    1. "New in Town" (Bimbo Jones Remix) – 5:47
    2. "New in Town" (Starsmith Remix) – 5:30
    3. "New in Town" (Fred Falke Remix) – 7:28
    4. "New in Town" (No One Is Safe – Alex Kapranos Remix) – 5:21
    Official remixes

    Charts

    Weekly charts

    Chart (2009)Peak
    position
    Australian Club Chart[27] 35
    Australian Hitseekers Singles Chart[28] 10
    Belgian Tip Chart (Flanders)[29] 12
    European Hot 100 Singles[30] 42
    Irish Singles Chart[31] 16
    Japan Hot 100[32] 39
    New Zealand Singles Chart[33] 29
    UK Singles Chart[34] 13

    Year-end charts

    Release history

    RegionDateLabelFormat(s)
    United Kingdom15 May 2009[36] 679 Recordings, Atlantic RecordsDigital download
    25 May 2009[37] CD single, 7" single, 12" single
    United States21 July 2009[38] Elektra RecordsDigital download

    Notes and References

    1. Web site: Lamb . Bill . Introducing Little Boots . . 28 April 2009 . 3 May 2009.
    2. Web site: Little Boots is 'New in Town' . . The Vinyl Factory . 3 April 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110723023344/http://www.factmag.com/2009/04/03/little-boots-is-new-in-town/ . 23 July 2011 . 7 May 2009.
    3. Web site: Balls . Dave . Little Boots . Digital Spy. 1 May 2009 . 3 May 2009.
    4. Web site: Merriweather makes Radio Two see Red . . 23 April 2009 . 10 May 2009.
    5. Web site: Radio 1 Playlist – A List . . 17 May 2009.
    6. Web site: Phares . Heather . Jennifer's Body – Original Soundtrack . . 17 October 2010.
    7. Web site: 90210 Music | Season 2 – Episode 202 . . 17 October 2010.
    8. East of Dillon . Friday Night Lights . Friday Night Lights (TV series) . 4 . 1 . 28 October 2009 . The 101 Network.
    9. Web site: Ganz . Caryn . Ugly Betty Recap: Jolly Old England . . 1 April 2010 . 17 October 2010.
    10. That Crazy Bitch Was Right . Mercy . Mercy (TV series) . 1 . 22 . 28 October 2009 . NBC.
    11. Web site: Levine . Nick . Little Boots: 'New in Town' . Digital Spy. 1 May 2009 . 3 May 2009.
    12. Web site: Little Boots – 'New in Town' . BBC Chart Blog . 21 May 2009 . 17 October 2010.
    13. Web site: Cragg . Michael . Little Boots – Hands . . 3 May 2009 . 7 May 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090507081817/http://www.musicomh.com/albums/little-boots_0509.htm . dead .
    14. Web site: Zadeh . Joe . Little Boots – Hands . . 1 May 2009 . 3 May 2009.
    15. Web site: Grundy . Gareth . Pop Review: Little Boots, New in Town . . 19 April 2009 . 3 May 2009.
    16. Web site: Review: Little Boots – New in Town . . 30 April 2009 . 17 October 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110718072622/http://www.virgin.com/music/reviews/review-little-boots-new-in-town . 18 July 2011.
    17. Web site: Hoffman . K. Ross . Hands – Little Boots . Allmusic. Rovi Corporation . 17 October 2010.
    18. Web site: Lukowski . Andrzej . Little Boots – Hands . . 10 June 2009 . 17 October 2010 . 14 July 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120714114635/http://drownedinsound.com/releases/14451/reviews/4137078 . dead .
    19. Web site: Hogan . Marc . Little Boots – "New in Town" . Pitchfork. 7 May 2009 . 17 October 2010.
    20. Web site: Little Boots – New in Town . . 17 October 2010.
    21. Web site: Top 50 Singles, Week Ending 28 May 2009 . . 17 October 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120314033618/http://www.chart-track.co.uk/index.jsp?c=p%2Fmusicvideo%2Fmusic%2Farchive%2Findex_test.jsp&ct=240001&arch=t&lyr=2009&year=2009&week=22 . 14 March 2012 . dead .
    22. Web site: Timmermans . Arjan . Video Premiere: Little Boots "New in Town" . ArjanWrites.com . 29 April 2009 . 3 May 2009.
    23. Web site: Hesketh . Victoria . youtube killed the video star... . littlebootsmusic.co.uk . 17 April 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090513052352/http://www.littlebootsmusic.co.uk/blog,youtube-killed-the-video-star_71.htm . 13 May 2009 . 3 May 2009.
    24. Web site: New in Town [single] – Super Bundle |publisher=littlebootsmusic.co.uk |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090619101022/http://www.littlebootsmusic.co.uk/store/products,new-in-town-single-super-bundle_5.htm |archive-date=19 June 2009 |access-date=3 May 2009].
    25. "New in Town Remixes" (Promotional CD #1). 679 Artists. April 2009.
    26. "New in Town Remixes" (Promotional CD #3). 679 Recordings. April 2009.
    27. Web site: ARIA Club Tracks – Week Commencing 22nd June 2009 . https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20090804140000/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/23790/20090805-0000/issue1008.pdf . dead . 2009-08-04 . . 5 December 2009.
    28. Web site: ARIA Hitseekers – Week Commencing 27th July 2009 . https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20090804140000/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/23790/20090805-0000/issue1013.pdf . dead . 2009-08-04 . ARIA Charts. Australian Web Archive . 25 November 2012.
    29. Web site: Little Boots – New in Town . nl . Ultratop. Hung Medien . 21 November 2009.
    30. European Hot 100 – Week of June 13, 2009 . . 20 January 2013.
    31. Web site: Top 50 Singles, Week Ending 11 June 2009 . Chart-Track. Irish Recorded Music Association . 17 October 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120314034315/http://www.chart-track.co.uk/index.jsp?c=p%2Fmusicvideo%2Fmusic%2Farchive%2Findex_test.jsp&ct=240001&arch=t&lyr=2009&year=2009&week=24 . 14 March 2012 . dead .
    32. Web site: Billboard Japan Hot 100 . Billboard Japan . Hanshin Contents Link . 20 July 2009 . 14 November 2010.
    33. Web site: Little Boots – New in Town . charts.nz. Hung Medien . 15 March 2011.
    34. Web site: 2009 Top 40 Official UK Singles Archive . . 6 June 2009 . 20 January 2013.
    35. http://www.ukchartsplus.co.uk/UKChartsPlusEOY2009.pdf
    36. Web site: New in Town – EP by Little Boots . 15 May 2009 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20100514145735/http://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/new-in-town-ep/id316160827 . 14 May 2010 . 27 January 2010.
    38. Web site: New in Town Remix – EP by Little Boots . 21 July 2009 . iTunes Store US. Apple Inc . 27 January 2010.

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