Lila Rose

This is not the soundtrack to some strange avant-garde horror film but there’s are some very unsettling themes running through Canadian Lila Rose’s new album. From opener Stars, to close We Animals Ms Rose experiments with sounds, instruments and atmosphere leaving the listener to ponder if they have actually enjoyed this?

The album sounds sparse throughout, the construction of the songs grounded in percussion that shifts from the leaden steps of Tracking and This Could be HA to the Adam and the Ants precision drumming of Nothing to Lose. Taken with the careful use of synths, strings and whatever else was lying around, then add Ms Rose’s disembodied sometimes almost childish sounding voice and you have an interesting collection of songs.

The vibe for the most part the album is downbeat, if not downright funereal though along the way you come to songs like Easy Love that don’t exactly lift the mood too much but there’s a gentle flow to the piano that’s soothing, as is the title track, to start with. It then shifts and builds to a suitably epic finale to the collection.

This is an easy album to admire on a technical and production level but on a more emotional level, an attachment may be harder achieve.