Never Wanna Leave  –  Xavier Toscano (reviewed by Dave Franklin)

Pop and dance music, and all its sub-genres and variants, may be a young persons scene but that doesn’t mean that the market will put up with a lower standard product than any other genre. Far from it, if you want to keep the pop dollar on side as the teen fan grows into a more discerning music fan then you need to deliver songs which offer both immediacy and sparkle yet are well wrought and sophisticated. Throw away songs may be great for the quick buck but even the most cynical record label marketing department knows that there is no future in that route. The clue is after all in the name…throw away.

There is nothing throw away about Toscano’s vibrant new single, not only does it tick all the right boxes to pick up the younger element, it also has enough sass and spine to snare some of the  more mature audience. One which might have long quit the clubbing scene but still feels the need to feed the inner party animal every now and then. And that’s the trick isn’t, broad appeal? If pop is about escapism, good times and fun and dance is about expressing those feelings on the floor of the club then Never Wanna Leave could almost be the modern template upon which the young commercial house artist should work too. It grooves, pops and struts with confidence and effortless cool, it blends clubland spice with urban, uptown swagger It’s hard to think of one thing that he has missed out.