Review Summary: Talented newcomer Lianne La Havas finds herself a little lost.
I have this friend who just can’t lie. Sometimes she tries to, but her attempts of conceit are hindered by that crack in her smile; small at first but which slowly grows so wide beneath its own surface that it snaps like a string of a captured helium balloon, engulfing her whole entire face until it dwells quite comfortably in her charming eyes. Lianne La Havas reminds me a lot of my friend. The warmth in La Havas’ voice is inviting and confident, mimicking the tone of every instrument she allures and tames. It came as a surprise to me then, that the opening track "No Room for Doubt" on
Lost & Found finds this beautiful and sinuous voice singing a sorrowful tale of a love once lost. Some use their sweet smiles as a shield. Lianne La Havas uses hers as a medium to sing
through, and yet not a single pair of her teeth grinds against the other.
Lost & Found, as the name may suggest, carries consistent themes of acceptance, a lack of regret and embracing of the future.
Yet for all the loss, there’s levity to be found within the EP in the form of the jazzy ditty, "Age". Tracking the tales of La Havas’ temptations to liaise with an older gentleman, "Age" portrays her voice with the dancing melody it deserves. Though her honest and simple lyrics perhaps leave something to be desired, her voice itself encapsulates the paradox of being so perfectly smoky, and yet innocently clear at the same time. It’s very smart, much akin to the sophisticated image Lianne La Havas emits. "Night School" builds on this as a soulful-yet-controlled piece with a groove differing greatly from the preceding tracks, but cements itself as a key piece of her backstory’s puzzle.
Lost & Found ends with a rather out of place cover of
Everything Everything’s "Final Form", which maybe pinpoints the main (albeit small and fixable) downfall of Lianne La Havas’ debut. Though her skill is blatant, her real identity and voice is still in its ripening stages. The songs, although all strong in their own right, wander away sometimes too far from one another – the title track being a particular criminal, fraternising just a little too closely with bland-pop-melancholy (or maybe I’m just being a cynical dick because it appeared on Hollyoaks)… Either way, La Havas’ stronger points are indeed very strong and merit both two eyes fixed upon this space. Here’s to hoping she’ll find a way to amalgamate her charming smile and jazz-influenced taste alongside her dark enigma without tarnishing these rare ingredients that she has arranged for herself impeccably.
