Album Review

Lea Lea – Lea Lea

• 7th Oct 2013

After surviving the long cold winter of so many so-so male singer/songwriters dominating airwaves and record deals, it has been bewildering to see an abundance of strong females come to the forefront of the record industry.

Stepping out from the shadows of deepest darkest Hackney is the latest in a lineage of solo artists that are able to take a multitude of disparate genres and incorporate them into a staggering sonic identity, Lea Lea shows an amazing maturity of sound on her debut eponymous album.

Her vocals are pitched somewhere between Neneh Cherry and Kelis, a peculiar and refreshing alternative that harks back to our recent past’s female mavericks that have almost been forgotten amongst the all conquering pop-triumvirate of Lady Gaga, Beyonce and Rihanna, mixed in with a dash of Katy B and a penchant for riding a bass heavy beat with gusto.

The repercussions of Diplo and M.I.A’s world view and taste for cross-continental sampling is writ large across the the entire album, and in fact tracks like AK47 could have been borrowed from the pair’s album sessions, but a more modern trend of trap and cloud rap also prevails amongst the Mad Decent flavas, yet nestled amongst the party bangers and party starters are a trio of tracks that betray their contemporaries ‘jump-up’ tendencies.

Apartheid and Black or White are clearly racially driven songs deduced just from their titles alone, yet if Apartheid came on in the club its message would come secondary to a bout of dutty wining, but One in Three’s powerful ability of taking a story of domestic abuse and reducing someone’s harrowing personal experience to a statistical value is devastatingly effective.

Lea Lea’s short but sweet album strides with confidence as it straddles club joints, urban flavours of the month and conscious lyrical content, delivered in an experimental, yet accessible package that pulls no punches as it looks to lay claim to an ever lucrative portion of the current matriarchal musical monopoly.

Venue: Lea Lea
Support Band: Wah Wah 45s