The Singles Jukebox Katy B fan club reconvenes…
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[6.82]
Madeleine Lee: I do not have any sense for the nuances of house as a genre; my only sense is that a song which makes me stop dancing is bad, a song which allows me to continue dancing if I’m already dancing is okay, and a song which makes me start dancing if I wasn’t already is good. This is a good song.
[8]
Scott Mildenhall: Thank God for the tacit stipulations of the radio edit, because it’s hard to imagine this ever existing without the retrospective vocal additions. Far from tacked-on, they are vital in driving the track forward and actually making something of it. Tinie is the commanding ringmaster, literally ordering movement in a stream of exhortations, and Katy B is free to impassionedly extend her voice all over a production that seems custom-built for her, especially in light of the unsuccessful Guy Chambering of her last album. The whole thing is a bullet.
[8]
Crystal Leww: I don’t think we give Tinie Tempah enough credit for being the Pitbull of the UK pop-rap scene. Basically, he’s never going to create a rap classic like good kid, m.A.A.d city, but do we need every song with rapping to be like that? “Turn the Music Louder” sounds fun in the club at 1 AM, Tinie Tempah’s bars and ad-libs are perfectly inoffensive, and more people are getting the chance to hear what Katy B’s vocals can do to a house beat.
[6]
Micha Cavaseno: Amazing how it’s Ministry of Sound that gets a single that screams “The Rinse.FM Generation”. KDA’s production is perfectly suitable, with a poppy stuttering synth roll that rises and tunnels under the careful “Think” drum breaks. Katy is in peak form and Tinie’s utterly disposable (his flow actually feels oddly closer to Novelist than his own her) but he works great at doing the work of keeping the verses buoyant while Katie gets that perfect bridge opportunity. Odd to make such a perfect banger for the autumnal season, but its lack of blaring over-eagerness does work in a lovely contrast to all the mugging of stadium house.
[7]
Alfred Soto: In 2009 Dizzie Rascal would have rapped the Tinie part; in 2015, KDA substitutes for Calvin Harris. Relying on Katy B’s charisma lets Tinie rest on what is essentially a “Yo, DJ, pump this party!” routine.
[4]
Thomas Inskeep: Finally: Katy B gets her Jess Glynne Brit house-diva on, while Tinie Tempah goes all Turbo B on us. This is a fine use of them both, so thank you KDA. “Turn the Music Louder” recalls the early ’90s, but in a Technotronic/Snap!/Bizarre Inc. way, and heaven knows we need MORE OF THIS. An uncomplicated ass-shaker, that’s what this is.
[8]
Iain Mew: A decent bit of hypeman intro meets a decent bit of sports montage music. There’s the beginnings of a great Katy B song in there too, but she just sort of flings it into the mix.
[5]
Brad Shoup: It’s essentially a Katy B hip-house track, and that’s fine.
[7]
Will Adams: Usually more reserved than her house contemporaries, Katy B recognizes the robust hook for what it is and delivers a wallop of a performance. Don’t let the artist billing fool you; this is her song, through and through.
[7]
Edward Okulicz: I’m not surprised that Katy B could sing strongly enough to dominate a semi-banger, though I’m a bit surprised that she has. British pop-house at its most populist is always friendly and dorky and in that spirit, this certainly puts the “fun” into “functional dance-pop.” A real crowd-pleaser, if your crowd still thinks Technotronic were the best thing ever (which they were, and someone should totally commission a remix of this with Ya Kid K immediately).
[7]
John Seroff: A half dozen spins of the extended version and the song I’m most reminded of — in spirit, in shared 125 BPM tempo, in construction, in the flagrancy of talent on display — is Missy, Fatman Scoop and Ciara on “Lose Control.” While I’d be shocked if “Music Louder” ages into that sort of classic, even a momentary comparison to a wine that fine is no slight praise. Worthy of remanding end of season Song of the Summer ballots… hell, maybe even worth bringing back summer.
[8]