ADU, LEILA
dark joan

heavyweight vinyl in a gatefold sleeve. 'dark joan', leila's third album as a solo artist, and her first to get the frizz records vinyl blessing, was recorded in chicago with the legendary steve albini (pj harvey, joanna newsome, nirvana, pixies), and albini's genius has been to strip her sound back to it's essence, and hold it's most distinctive qualities up to the light, without losing anything of the sophistication or imagination of the first two lps. it doesn't hurt that this is by far leila's most powerful set of songs to date, and if anything we are lead even deeper into her world by the pictures painted with just piano (or in some cases harpsichord or a grime-encrusted electric piano) and that voice...we should focus in a little on that voice...capable of anything from delicate heartbreaking purity to a fearsome dramatic power, often within the scope of a single line (nina again...), she hypnotises the listener into submission as soon as she opens her mouth. she has been described as sounding like 'hot treacle on broken glass', and you can hear why; but she can equally well do hot treacle on it's own, or just broken glass, or unbroken glass, or the sound that broke the glass in the first place and knocked the treacle off the stove... her powers are seemingly limitless, yet unlike most other singers of her calibre, never does she resort to melodrama or show-boating, or any kind of pastiche, instead she employs her resources fully in the expression of her distinctive musical vision and the deep well-spring of her imagination. nothing ever sounds as though it could have not been sung...