Jessy Lanza - Pull My Hair Back (2013)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZF2lZesYZo0

^ video for "Kathy Lee"

The album comes out in September on Hyperdub and it's co-written and produced by Jeremy Greenspan of Junior Boys. There's another track from the album called "Keep Moving" that's embedded in a thing about her at The Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2013/jul/05/jessy-lanza

I've been listening to "Keep Moving" all day. C'mon September!

i like this album a fair amount. it sounds EXACTLY what you think an r&b album co-written and produced by the dude from junior boys would sound like.

lex is right in that it's very vibey and not necessarily tuneful but i dig it. the title track is nice.

it sounds EXACTLY what you think an r&b album co-written and produced by the dude from junior boys would sound like.

Oh good.

well, it sounds exactly what you think an album sung by a vaguely ~soulful~ vocalist and co-written and produced by latter-day junior boys sounds like, ie pretty fucking boring. really not very remarkable and extremely unmemorable. nothing as good as lanza's collab with ikonika: http://soundcloud.com/hyperdub/hdb074-ikonika-beach-mode-keep

and certainly nothing as good as any of these

http://soundcloud.com/s-n-muthafuckin-l/shanell-catch-me-at-the-light
http://soundcloud.com/weareking-1/in-the-meantime
http://soundcloud.com/littleladye/01-143-i-love-you
http://soundcloud.com/fantasia-official-music/without-me-ft-kelly-rowland
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqHwqOKQr8k

I like all those songs, lex, but I also like the two of her own tracks I've heard so far as well. There's room for everything.

Shut up Lex Pretend you tedious cunt.

hahaha

i can't believe we're gonna go thru this again

people into jessy lanza aren't going to be swayed by fantasia, i don't think

lock this thread and put it in a time capsule, it's perfect

I don't really have an opinion on Jessy Lanza at this point other than that she seems more comparable to Kathy Diamond than actual r&b. As usual the press release and the marketing strategy are amusing as lex-trolling but otherwise don't support framing this as a choice between Jessy Lanza and Fantasia.

I suppose if real r&b was having a better time commercially this wouldn't occur to us: no one complained about the Sneaker Pimps in these terms IIRC.

As usual the press release and the marketing strategy are amusing

to be clear, amusing in an eye-rolly look at this fool kind of way.

I seriously cannot understand how "Kathy Lee" and "110%" "If You're Never Gonna Move" could be seen as drastically different - there's this eerie tension lurking in the ~vibes~ and the songcraft is so subtle in both.

I like this album. But given that I am rockist and unrepentant that probably counts as a black mark against it.

How many people in this thread are writers with review copies? Because to the best of my knowledge it hasn't leaked yet.

I wish I was, Google isn't helping on this matter.

the vocal on kathy lee is weak and the track is boring except for the pop sound

^

I am finding "Kathy Lee" to be almost exactly as interesting as "Video Games", ie "not even the slightest bit"

If the singing was slightly off in the Sneaker Pimps vein, it would at least be a distinguishing characteristic for the song; as it stands, it's just all bland pretty smoothness (aside from the aforementioned synth snare hit in the beat, and when all of the personality of your song is tied into a snare hit on beat 3, that's a problem)

kathy lee was a grower, but its one of the weaker links imo and a surprising choice for single/video. on the whole i find this really special and suspect it will be a hit with anyone fond of the JBs.

production-wise it sits somewhere between Last Exit and the more "accomplished" sounding So This is Goodbye. it's impossibly lush in places and quite spacey, but with lots of little rough edges and arrangements that on first pass may seem half-baked.

there's that familiar polyrhythm wrought by skittery percussion and arpeggios and tremolos and oddly-timed delays and gently modulated synth drone. oh and there's some fucking stellar chord work throughout.

really impressive debut

i think its a great album, even if it is basically kind of a 'what if junior boys produced aaliyah' kind of project. im not that fussed about her getting more attention over say, fantasia, just because they are so different. but last time i checked, its not like beyonce or rihanna were being booted out the charts by the likes of solange or weeknd (or more appropriately, how king midas sound and how to dress well were beating katy b or disclosure on itunes). so im not sure where this 'alt R&B' vs 'real R&B' war starts and ends. im more interested in how in the uk, it seems like most of the biggest R&B voices are white, but thats probably too many worm cans to be opened at once (and it might be a specious one, im not sure). but anyway, i think the album is great. hyperdub's aaliyah to laurel halo's bjork.

has this actually leaked or are you two what passes for professional these days

hahaha damn

zing

Love this album. Not normally my area, but it sounds so great – 80s pop R&B melodies, modern production …

Finally heard this album and I like it but not as much as I hoped/expected. Lanza's phrasing is so obviously indebted to Greenspan's own style of singing that a less careful listener could think it was a demo guide track. Her voice is not the interesting thing about this but I'm not sure what else it is that she brings to it, and over the length of an album the constant use of her upper register starts to grate. It's not bad but it sounds EXACTLY what you think an r&b album co-written and produced by the dude from junior boys would sound like, just not explored to that idea's full potential.

Christ this is a dull album. The first song has its moments but the overall effect is so soporific, like the world was not exactly crying out for a Hyperdub-friendly Grimes.

Totally disagree with you sad hyperdub haters as usual. Such a lush album, grows with listens. I love it.

Didn't care for the last couple Junior Boys albums and thought the Lanza track on the Ikonika album was a weak spot, so I wasn't expecting to like it one bit. Would've dismissed it after the first listen, but the job doesn't allow that. It won me over. Can definitely see why the feathery melisma would grate. (Major plus: Gushing about Kashif, Melba Moore, and Evelyn King but not attempting to replicate any of the stuff.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burj_Dubai

i always imagine that rtc calls in his forums posts like this

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2009/4/7/1239117467627/Boris-Johnson-cycling-in--002.jpg

really into this. while quite understanding that grimes-gone-boogie may be an ermmmm divisive sound on ilm.

I like this album fine but I've only really put it on as background music and hey it works well enough as that.

This album may click with me someday, but right now it seems like it's behind glass.

Listen to it a lot while at work, and really like it, but suspect it will be ones of those albums I forget about in 12 months time

fuck diamfuck diamond

This isn't going to win over anyone not already on board, but still:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhvjL98MJEU

New single!

http://www.vevo.com/watch/jessy-lanza/It-means-i-love-you/GBLZC1600054

Also, new album coming soon.

not sure what to make of that but excited regardless

btw pull my hair back is an unbelievably lovely album

new song is such a wonderful little earworm, can't wait for the full album

this is now my most anticpated album of the year, "You Never Show Your Love" was so underrated.

i really loved the first 3-4 songs of the first album (the rest just didnt match up for me), so am cautiously excited to hear the new one.

New one is growing on me...though at first I wanted it to have more vocals.

Still super jazzed for the new record; co-sign on Pull My Hair Back being unbelievably lovely.

yeah i listened to it the other day and man that was a great record, that was

new track "VV Violence" from the upcoming album has an infectious midnite boogie sheen to it

http://www.gorillavsbear.net/hear-jessy-lanzas-infectious-new-track-vv-violence/

Ooooooooh.

not sure if it got ilm attention elsewhere but i thought this mix she did last year was fantastic https://soundcloud.com/i-d-online-1/jessy-lanza-music-to-cheer-yourself-up-to

IDK, I find her vocals totally uncompelling, and that bass synth sounds like something the aliens from Explorers would play

Goddamn, the new album is great.

THE NEW ALB IS SO GOOD

I thought it was way better than the first one, more vivid three-dimensional sound and better songwriting

The new one's great and she kills it live, but the first one has "Fuck Diamond" which is all-time.

love both, although PMHB has more sentimental value to me

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3D7EEpdlY4

she's back at last and sounding great

yeah, this rules – hope a record follows!

She’s been teasing a record to be released this year! This’ll likely be a part of it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrwrjMntR8o

I know that couch!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moQx8CpHMGo

that was fun

Hilarious--out to the Ontario blue-bin recycling program

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flh6HYEObp4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fj06wf5sZcE

this Boiler Room set has made really excited about the new record

album is fine but doesn't seem as hook-y as the last one on first listen?

well this is completely delightful on contact!

texturally wonderful as always and I can sense actual songs in there as well

i really like "over and over" and "alexander"

I've not been motivated to engage with her music for years but the new one is great, so much hookier and full of ideas than her older work. How long has she been making stuff like this?

it's not a significant shift from oh no which i'd say was slightly better than this new one

new record is greatness

i tried with "lick in heaven" and it's not my thing

i want to like it but the production goes the wrong way for me, flat and fart-y. quirky freestyle shouldn't sound like beat happening. guaranteed if you play it on a dance floor the energy goes to zero. i know that's a weirdly arbitrary thing to level against a pop track because pop can be successful so many different ways but that's just where my head is at rn. is there another "single" from this i should give a chance? i guess i sound like i've already made up my mind but it changes all the time and i'm weird so idk maybe i'll come around.

Still love her first album; nothing since has really clicked for me.

been loving this. Badly has remained a favorite -- makes me curious if jeremy writes any vocals. her delivery of the main verses is so junior boys! very easy to imagine him singing that.

Rules. Flat and farty is just what I needed today.

Enjoying the new record quite a bit – I think it digests Oh No's influences into a more pop-friendly record that still has quite a bit of "weird" detail & sound design hidden inside a minimal electronic/R&B shell. "Anyone Around", "Face", "Ice Creamy", "Over and Over" are highlights for me. Also sounds v. good played v. loud on my tower speakers where you can appreciate the mix.

this is a little thin but if I approach it looking for its textural richness rather than its songwriting I appreciate it a lot more

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myYggI17_cs

that's nice. great video.

so much more fun to watch a video of people having fun in vegas than to actually be in vegas imo

DJ Kicks mix feels like a very obvious join-the-dots influence map, but I've always liked the stuff her music draws on so I'm really enjoying it

her dj-kicks whips imo

i thought i had posted some thoughts on it somewhere. not sure what else to say except agree.

weird revive because was literally today thinking about selling the 2LP (pressing kinda sucks) but remembered it's the only way you can get the swisha and michael j blood tracks on vinyl

according to bandcamp her dj kicks commemorative l/s tshirt (digital print on 100% organic ring-spun combed cotton is SOLD OUT

https://f4.bcbits.com/img/0026980533_10.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JD3NjXLTNAw

new single rules wow

lol is that morgan geist in the cowboy hat?

Banger.

Xpost: cowboy is credited as Taylor Higgins

https://www.instagram.com/p/CqYPWyDJQEA/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Just speculating here but are she and jr boys Jeremy done working together?

When I first heard those piano/synth chords come in I was sure he had a part in this, but then saw she credited Pearson Sound with co-production and some other guy mixed it; no mention of Jeremy. Seems like this is just a one-off single but I hope not the end of their partnership!

i like this but i fuller song lyrics from her, not just artsy snippets, e.g. the mezzanine tracks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZ9jkSsO8m4

new album love hallucination out 28 july. greenspan is apparently on a few tracks still

how is this not the album cover. anyway can't wait!

yet another solid album from her!

so good. The advance description made it sound like a bigger variety of producers this time. But from this new Discogs entry, can see Jeremy Greenspan is still heavily involved

https://www.discogs.com/release/27804303-Jessy-Lanza-Love-Hallucination

saw that too! their whole dynamic is very curious with the friends, lovers, ex-lovers arc.

honestly impressive they've maintained such a close and consistent creative partnership through it all. also interesting that he seemingly never proactively promotes her work nor his involvement in it.

at the beginning there was sensitivity of overshadowing and it being written off as a junior boys project but at this point certainly she's doing bigger numbers than they ever did. as a long time JBs fan I'm just glad it's still a going concern and a great one at that!

have yet to dig into the album but it looks promising. 'limbo' is A++++

a few tracks in and i think this is her best one yet

idk if i'd take it over oh no yet but it's at least better than the other two

great headphones album, the bass is very sumptuous

I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed her lockdown-era online DJ mixes, when I'd just stay in and drink red wine and listen to online DJ mixes.