Song of the year, number 12: Iraina Mancini - Deep End

A solid salute to the French yé yé sound, 'Deep End' is blissful escapism right down to its vintage themed video. Like Pearl Charles' 'Only For Tonight', 'Deep End' was released during lockdown three in the UK and was playlisted by BBC 6Music at a time when a lot of the population was working from home and wanted some good ear candy. None of this detracts in any way from 'Deep End', or indeed 'Only For Tonight', but I think it's fair to say that they are both stylish pastiches of existing past sounds that were loved both because of how well they were done, but also because there was something vaguely comforting about them in those dark months at the beginning of 2021. 

Iraina Mancini - Deep End

A salute to the heroine's of 1960s yé yé, this exuberant slice of pop from British singer/songwriter Iraina Mancini stands out as a highlight of what we might now refer to as "the lockdown three period" of 2021. We might not have been able to dance on dance floors, but we could definitely give the kitchen lino a good work out.