Jessy Lanza’s fantastic debut Pull My Hair Back refuses to be categorised. It’s a mesh of alt-R*B, post-dubstep and even some groovy Prince-esque throwback, and ultimately the sexiest album of the year so far.
To describe Jessy Lanza’s voice is to sound like a creep; seductive, soft and captivating. They echo and blend with the track, but if you take the time to absorb the lyrical content, they’re pretty damn fine! Tracks like “5785021” and “Fuck Diamond” are mesmerising and silky, while “Keep Moving” makes you want to bust out your best bedroom dancing, to chart the flow of the album would be to outline a mountain range with it’s ups and downs of intensity: and that’s only a good thing. No need to skip tracks on this concise nine-track album.
Maybe the only draw back is also one of Jessy Lanza’s strengths. There is no strong sense of the individual on this track. We don’t really get to know the woman behind the shadowed face on the record’s sleeve. Nor do we get any in-depth stories revealing her character, but at the same time this sense of mystery has been a rarity recently. Having said that, the final track “Strange Emotion” really hits hard as well as ending the album sublimely.
While some tracks will certainly make perfect additions to playlists and mixes, the record itself is played best at night; be it in the city at home, or driving around the suburbs, wherever, something about the various vibes of this record are held together by a vague feeling I can only compare visually to sundown and artificial lights – give it a try.
written by James A. George
No Comments