There are many obvious things which are evidence of being in the throes of a seductive summer, most you will need no reminding of but there is something else which equally has emotions wrapped up in the beauty of its warmth and that is a new release from British singer-songwriter Little Lapin. Just short of two years ago, the Cornwall based songstress entranced and impressed with debut album Remember The Highs, repeating the event a year later with its even more striking successor Holding Out For The Kicks. Their collection of heart bred, spirit stroking songs firmly imprinted their creator on the indie folk/ alt country scene. Now third album, Wake Up With The Sun, is a day or so away from living up to its title and sparking a new melodic summer for the senses and imagination to bask in.
Quite simply Wake Up With The Sun puts its predecessors in the shade; easily eclipsing both impressing releases as Little Lapin’s (Lucy Hill) reveals her most potent, accomplished, and creatively imaginative and elegant songs yet. She is no stranger to acclaim, those releases and surrounding singles as well as her live performances drawing eager praise and attention. From radio shows to the scribbles of music blogs and magazines, plaudits have gathered as too a worldwide fan base through her shows and tours across Britain and New Zealand as well as New York. Wake Up With The Sun is also the call to the rest of the world to take notice with its season of melodic seduction.
Initially and no doubt continued to be inspired by the likes of Regina Spektor, The Cranberries, Florence & The Machine, Laura Marling, PJ Harvey, The Cure, and The Pixies, Little Lapin has persistently nurtured her own character of sound and songwriting; its current pinnacle and uniqueness coming within Wake Up With The Sun. From its first breath, the album smiles and kisses ears; opener and album title track stroking ears with the tender touch of acoustic guitar. That in turn sparks a skip of eager guitar and bass, their perky stroll wrapped in the warm caress of LL’s ever captivating voice. A slice of pop folk, the song proceeds to radiate like its namesake; rays of energy and senses inciting warmth infusing body and spirit.
My Complexion follows, swiftly sharing its own infectious gait and nature as LL courts ears and thoughts with her evocative words and enticing voice. Its unique spice adds a delicious tang to her melodic prowess, essences emulated in the blend of jaunty guitar and jazzy bass alongside. An eruption of fiercely fragrant guitar only adds to the temptation, a one off moment not to be repeated but lingering as long as the song’s general spring and beam.
Just as potent in its reluctance to leave ears and thoughts is the delicious animated serenade of Isn’t Life for Living, a blossom of beauty simultaneously sharing a smouldering flame and frisky waltz as it ignites feet and hips as easily as a lustful appetite for its virulent pop. As throughout the album, there is a sixties/seventies scent, a whisper but giving the song another endearing hue to get hooked on as it sublimely captivates with its keen and poetic vivacity before latest single Narrabeen adds its own catchy enterprise and bold imagination to the release. With the haze of harmonica and a suggestive rumble interrupting its tenacious country spiced swing, the track is a sultry and dusty Kiwi hued adventure and, as its predecessor, just riveting.
Through the delicate melancholy lit Luna and the reflective hug of A Song for Alex, the album lures the listener deeper into its majestic yet intimate arms while Need a Change of Scene has the body on its feet again shuffling round with tenacious versatility to the song’s wonderfully unpredictable invention and evolving landscape. Like a mix of Laura Marling and Imelda May, LL has ears and imagination enslaved whilst revealing another aspect to the diversity shaping Wake Up With The Sun.
LL simply bewitches once more within Radio Nocebo, her tang lined voice an appetite inflaming siren and storyteller within the sparkle of hearty and innocence spun melodies. Captivation is swift and inescapable as the song provides another peak to the loft range of the album; its triumph followed by the final wash of warmth and melodic intimacy provided by closing song I Told You So. It is a last kiss on the lips of pleasure as Wake Up With The Sun leaves the listener wistfully bound in the hug of creative grace.
It is probably fair to say that Little Lapin has yet to ignite the biggest spotlights so far but it is easy to suspect that global attention will be stirred, as the sun, by her new and quite simply gorgeous album.
Wake Up With The Sun is released April 14th across most online stores.
http://www.littlelapinmusic.com/ https://www.facebook.com/littlelapin/ https://twitter.com/1littlelapin https://littlelapin.bandcamp.com
Pete RingMaster 13/04/2017
Copyright RingMaster: MyFreeCopyright
The album opens with Magnet Eyes and an immediate inescapable tempting of warm guitar and keys taken to another enslaving level by the unique tones of Hill. Her voice has a quality of sounding familiar as well as freshly bewitching, but from person to person it seems we hear someone different as a reference, the likes of Laura Marling, Regina Spektor, Sinead O’Connor, and Chrissie Hynde just some references used, with the latter the closest for us as a descriptive hint. As the song stretches its melodic nature and evocative air, a shadow of darker resonance comes into play to catch the imagination all over again, whilst voice and keys especially almost flirt with rich expression and emotive radiance.
an additional caress of reserved but potent guitar strings. That Pretenders simmer is lively from the start, recalling Hynde and co around their first album but similarly casting a fresh and vivacious breath which has a texture more aligned to a Metric or even The Cranberries. The song continues to entwine ears and imagination with its spicy melody and sultry temptation, assisted by a great dark bassline which flirts behind ever compelling vocals. The song is delicious, pure manna for body and soul and the most rigorous enticement likely to be heard this year for any album.