JESSICA 6
"White Horse" and "Fun Girl"
(Peacefrog)

Siren of the dance floor Nomi Ruiz is looking and sounding even better outside of Hercules and Love Affair; in fact, depending on the petty commercial whims and deeper prejudices of the world, she could be the most alluring pop diva since Aaliyah. Washing in on peerless cymbal-sprays, "White Horse" comes on like the 21st-century answer to Shannon's "Let the Music Play" while also notching top spot in the current Madonna revival. Its video sashays through the kind of N.Y. nighttime sleaze that just about disappeared with the Gaiety, and does so with style. The older "Fun Girl" has traces of the Hercules sound as well as Janet Jackson's and Aaliyah's feline flirtations with guitar rock, and a warped horror-tinged sound that make sense when one considers Jessica 6's original name was Deep Red. Check out the flawless combo of windblown hair/keyboard at 1:14. Can't wait for the album. Videos after the jump.

Jessica 6, "White Horse":

Jessica 6, "Fun Girl":