Hey all!
Another day, another album review! Today is the turn of Lianna La Havas who went from singing backing vocals for artists including Paloma Faith to creating her own original music! She's also been nominated for THREE Mobo awards!
Anyways, let's get straight on with the album reaction!
1 - 'Bittersweet' (Full Length)
The first track on this album is really relaxing and repeats the words 'no more hanging around' which could mean that she's moving on from her past and not going back to a previous experience she has been a part of. I think the song is about a relationsip as she says 'this isn't going anywhere' and speaks about being 'born again', which could identify she has had a change in her look, personality or her mindset towards love. I think there is a slight difference between the full length version of this song and the cut version...this version has more instrumental at the end and finishes on a slower face, with the other single finishing quickly! (I thought I'd just listen to them after eachother otherwise I would forget the melody and lyrics of the track!).
2 - 'Read My Mind'
This sounds like a love song aimed at a special lover. In the song Lianne speaks about how there's pure joy when 'a girl meets a boy' can start something so naturally, and she goes on to explain that she's got her eyes on somebody, explaining that there's no time for 'hide and seek' because she'll let herself be found. It's a really well written song and I like the backing vocals in the background. Some of the lyrics include 'seek and you will find' which also relate to the idea of love or relationships, and that if you want something serious, you also have to do some searching of your own! Love is one of those things that happens naturally and I love how sincere and passionate this song is...really relaxed background instruments as well as front line vocals. My favourite song of the first two so far!
3 - 'Green Papaya'
In the beginning of this song she speaks about 'her river of doubt' which helped her to swim out, and potentially move onto a better place. I think the 'river' signifies a difficult place of love that she must have felt trapped in and now she's free, she's able to make 'real love' with somebody new. I like the chorus of this song as her vocals stand out from the backing singers and there are some gtreat ad libs in the song as well!
4 - 'Can't Fight'
I think this song speaks about somebody that she can't be without out in her lfe, describing it as being unable to 'fight away this love', explaining that it sometimes breaks her heart. It sounds like the sort of song Beyoncé or Mariah Carey would have sang and performed back in the 80's or 90's. It's got a great beat, like all of Lianne's other songs, and she's definitely going to blow up into being a megastar! Mark my words!
5 - 'Paper Thin'
This song began with a 30 second instrumental introduction before leading into the opening lyrics, which happen to be the title of this song; 'paper thin'. In the song, she sings the line 'It's your life, but you're not the only one that's hurting' - so again, this could be about a relationship, or maybe she's singing about a family member who she loves, and knows is going through a difficult time like she is describing about herself. A lot of love songs are difficult to analyse because it could be about self love, love for friends, family, a lover or somebody that you want to be your lover...but that's why it's important to listen to all the lyrics of a song before coming to a conclusion! 'You say you're scared of me, and we both want to be free' are some of the other lyrics sung in this song so potentially this is a way of saying 'let me into your life'...in a really soothing way - with Lianne singing 'your heart is wide open', meaning that they are reciprocating that love. It's a really nice song, and at the end of the song she adds that she 'just wants to love you' (the lucky person)!
6 - 'Out Of Your Mind' (Interlude)
Song number 6 isn't a song, but it's a one minute interlude that transitions into the next song, but I always like listening to these, because often they are teasers for future songs, or demo's from unreleased songs. This interlude was just a variety of ad libs vocals with mention of the song title...so could this be a new single or a song on an album to be released in 2021? 2022? Who knows?
7 - 'Weird Fishes'
For some reason, I think this is a song about the world potentially ending? She does speak about 'falling off the Earth' and everyone having their chance at something...maybe life? Or life after death in a new line? Three minutes into the song she begins singing about 'weird fishes' (the title of the song) and the song transitions into a more rock type track with drums and guitars in the background. She goes on to sing about being at 'the bottom and escape' which I don't really understand, but maybe this could be relating to the bottom of the world, and the fact that she wants to escape? When I phrase it like that, it makes more sense, but I'm not sure if I'm just mis hearing words...
8 - 'Please Don't Make Me Cry'
Looks like Lianne can be a little emotional at times, and in this song she explains that she doesn't want to be made to cry. 'I look at my prettiest scars, that makes us what we are' - is one of the lines in this song and I think it is really important to highlight the importance of being unique and having lines, skin differences, spots etc, as that's all part of growing older, rather than just going 'under the knife' and trying to continue reliving the younger years, which could often make you feel worse than if you just let life do what it wants to do to you...Anyways, I feel like I'm going a little off topic from the song. I love the dramatic pause before the last minute of singing, and she continues to sing 'these are the reasons why', which could be the reasons why she is crying, or reasons why she doesn't want to cry! Either way, the song was really lovely to listen to, gave me slight Ariana Grande vibes and will definitely be a song I won't forget from the year of 2020!
9 - 'Seven Times'
Not five, not six, but seven times! She sings 'yeah that's a good intro' at the beginning of the song whilst the instruments are playing, before starting the first verse of vocals! She speaks about crying and praying 'all night all/and day' which could relate to the title of 'seven times' because you can fit seven sessions of crying a praying in a day...which is a little unnatural, but sometimes it's better to let the emotions out than holding everything in! Towards the end of the song there was a wind instrument being played...which sounded like a flute of some sort, and in the last few seconds, there was isolated lyrics without any backing music or vocals which brought the song to a close! I love this technique as it brings full attention to the final notes of a song!
10 - 'Courage'
In this song Lianne sings about being under someone's spell, something she can't resist...and instead of being able to talk to that person, she decides to sing songs with melodies to find her inner courage! It's a really slow and powerfully sung song with relatable emotions of those who might also be finding it difficult to find their inner courage. It's definitely something I have faced head on over the last years, and I think she is treating 'courage' as her saviour whilst she is feeling down! It was a lovely song, and it also breaks up the songs that are over 5 minutes, with a simple, slow and short song!
11 - 'Sour Flower'
Sour Flower sounds like the name of a Ru Paul Drag Queen, or something you can add to a cooking dish...but that's probably just my weird imagination. Primarily, it's a Lianne La Havas single, so let's listen to what it's all about. 'I'm done settling for less than I deserve' is one of the lines that I picked up instantly as she was performing this song, and I think it's a really important part of life. Everybody knows their own self worth, and if you can get to a stage where you realise you're better off with somebody who treats you well, than somebody you might love...but turns out to be a 'not so nice' person...you've won at life! The words 'sour flower' could resemble that the love was sour, but on the outside, the flower looked great? Maybe maybe, my English Literature analysis of words in poems might have come into good practice. Lianne sings about crying when she's hot or blue for example...and it's not her crying over somebody, she's crying because she's 'free' from the love that she thought she initially had! It's a very powerful song I think whoever the song is about, knows that she wasn't very happy in that specific relationship, and he's basically got to move on...knowing that she doesn't have feelings for that sour flower type of love anymore! The song, like others...ended with a instrumental of background instruments which helped bring the song to a powerful finish!
12 - 'Bittersweet'
Read review(ish) above at '1'
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