Eliza Doolittle

Overview

Though it's true that nothing is really 'like' anything else, Eliza Doolittle gets compared to Lily Allen and Amy Winehouse an awful lot. Doolittle doesn't like it. And, though they sometimes share a producer, neither does Allen. In fact, Doolittle is probably closer to Norah Jones — a strong, clear new voice suddenly cutting its way out across the heavily engineered landscape of pop. Her song Pack Up samples a version of Pack Up Your Troubles and catchy Skinny Genes is a sweet, gentle lullaby about getting it on. Doolittle writes simple-sounding fifties tunes, and she tops the British charts while doing it. Though she's shown she can swear, her lyrics are usually so clean that she has her backup blokes whistle to cover up the rude bits, even while the subject matter of her songs is anything but clean.

Tuesday night Eliza Doolittle will be headlining at the Oxford Art Factory, supported by Lanie Lane, who croons Andrews Sisters-style ukelele songs on her huge blues guitar, Betty. Doolittle's star is rising. Her next visit to Sydney probably won't be so low key, but if you're quick enough this week, you can say you heard her first.