Indie Light

Lola Young is an English singer/songwriter and musician from Croydon. She cites Joni Mitchell, Prince, Frank Ocean, and Anderson .Paak as influences to her music. She first came to prominence after being selected to cover ‘Together in Electric Dreams’ in the 2021 John Lewis Christmas advert. Today I’ll be reviewing her album ‘This Wasn’t Meant For You Anyway’ which was released June 21st 2024.

‘Good Books’ kicks off fast, a sustained chord note, with a frenzied percussive element beneath, blending perfectly with Lola’s vocals. I really like the energy and melody of the track, the slightly off-beat, cacophonous vibe, which goes together with her voice, which is strong and impactful and you just get caught up in her performance. 

‘Wish You Were Dead’ is immediately totally different from the previous entry, some superb strings creating a richly, textured backdrop to Lola’s vocals. I really liked the building percussion, which bounced off her vocals, like the pair were dancing. I actually only just came across Lola earlier this week and threw myself into this review eagerly after hearing a snippet of one of her songs on Instagram. She’s talented, and her voice has depth and range that make her an absolutely breathtaking performer. 

‘Big Brown Eyes’ is another big, bouncy track, the bass and percussion blending together perfectly, and again I am blown away by Lola’s performance. She has a powerful voice, and her accent adds a little extra something to the overall feel. I really liked this track, the rise and fall, the sometimes discordant melody, everything about it really works, and so I think this snags the top top, my highlight on what is shaping up to be a top notch release. 

‘Conceited’ incorporates bass and synthy tones, and we see even more range to Lola’s vocals; the deeper, huskier delivery really works with the heavier, darker melody. As I said earlier I’m literally just finding the artist, but she is going from strength to strength in this album, and is overall a truly spectacular lyricist and vocalist. I love the staccato rhythm and the solid instrumental backing, all of it just comes together perfectly to create something unique. 

‘Messy’ has a little but fast percussive beat opening things up, and I really like the way that Lola emotes and delivers her lines, especially the solid back and forth structure of her lyrics. It all works incredibly well. I already have a top track for the album, but this one comes in at a very close second.

‘Walk On By’ starts off slow, a couple of halting notes, before it begins in earnest, and immediately builds to the settled pace of the rest of the track, and again I’m just captivated by her vocal performance, the richness and depth of her voice, supported and bolstered by the steady melodic structure of the instrumental backing. 

‘You Noticed’ opens with acoustic guitar, light and simple, a more stripped back melody, that is softer and you just get lost in the performance. I like that each track has it’s own personality and narrative, and yet woven together, they have a thread connecting them, even tracks like this one which are fairly different compared to the rest on the release, they are still connected in mood, if not in execution. 

‘Crush’ opens with yelling, before flowing into a percussive heavy, bass infused melody, it’s again harnessing a slightly offbeat style which really works well for the artist. As we close in on the end of the album, it’s amazing that the artist can keep surprising me with the breadth of her talent and range, and I just keep getting lost in these tracks. While Lola might be newly on my radar, I’ll be sure to keep with her music from now on. 

‘Fuck’ opens with a heavy, bouncing percussive beat, deep and dark, and exactly what I was expecting for a song called ‘Fuck’. It has a superb vibe, with just the right blend of attitude and energy to create the desired effect. God she’s just a tremendous talent, there’s not a moment of this album that isn’t an absolute sensation. 

‘Intrusive Thoughts’ really resonated with me, I’ve been dealing with my own battles with mental health lately, in particular invasive intrusive thoughts, and I felt a certain kinship with the performer in this track. I got lost in this track, but afterwards I felt a little better, not sure if that makes sense but it’s true, and what’s also true is that you need to check this track out for yourself.

‘Outro’ I’m always a fan of an outro, and this is a nice little closer by the artist, that lets you know and understand the artist a little better when it’s done. 

So that’s what I thought of Lola Young’s album ‘This Wasn’t Meant For You Anyway’ and you can check that out over on Spotify. While you’re at it, make sure and support the artist by following them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.