Cleo Alexandra – ‘Who Can It Be Now’ – ft. Rick Springfield

To an Australian, mention the song, ‘Who Can It Be Now’, and you automatically think of the legendary Men At Work song, which was released back in the 80s. Cleo Alexandra, from Armidale, in country New South Wales, Australia, knows the song well. She’s given it a real twist, an almost sinister one, and is accompanied on the song by another Aussie legend, Rick Springfield.

With a sound that’s been inspired by the theatricality of the likes of AC/DC, Stevie Nicks, Janis Joplin, Lady Gaga, and Kurt Cobain, Cleo tells stories which are filled with emotion, in a display of her real soul, conveyed with brutally eye-opening and raw modern, and powerful sounds.

Cleo first got started in music at the tender age of five, when she was given a notebook for her birthday. She started writing short poems, and worked on her skills as a singer/songwriter, soon after picking up the guitar and keyboard. She got into modelling during high school, but the call of music was too strong, and she left that after a few years.

Cleo joined forces with six time Grammy winner, producer Keith Olsen, and producer JJ Farris, who worked with her to release her debut single, ‘Criminal’, in 2016. Cleo caught the eyes of many and released her debut self-titled EP this past Tuesday, 22 January.

‘Who Can It Be Now’ takes the Men At Work classic and turns it on its head, giving it a hauting, sininster quality that wasn’t in the original, and slowing it right down. The video, directed by Tom Bishop, sees Cleo in a beautiful yet dimly lit house, with Rick dropping in as an amorphous presence adding to the overal spookiness. The pairing of their voices works very well, and in combination with the song and the music video, ensures a stunning finished result.

You can find out more about Cleo Alexander online on her official website, Instagram, and Facebook.

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About the author

Lisa has been writing for over 20 years, starting as the entertainment editor on her university newspaper. Since then she's written for Popwrapped, Maximum Pop, Celebmix, and ListenOnRepeat.

Lisa loves all good music, with particular fondness for Jedward and David Bowie. She's interviewed Edward Grimes (Jedward), Kevin Godley, Trevor Horn, Paul Young, Peter Cox (Go West), Brendan B Brown (Wheatus), Bruce Foxton (The Jam), among many many more. Lisa is also available for freelance writing - please email lisa@essentiallypop.com

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