Album Review: Lissie – Back To Forever
2 min read
Lissie has a lot to contend with at the moment, with the recent influx of female talent. You’ve got your Haim’s, you’ve got your Gaga’s, and you’ve got your Taylor Swifts to name a few. Lissie seems to draw from many of the present female artists on this album, creating a multi-genre record that chops and changes throughout.
Talking about lost loves, nights of drinking and trying to cope with fame, the album is a mish-mash of different idea’s that in some places unsettle, whereas in other places make you feel empathy for poor Lissie. Shameless is a good example of the empathy side, a song about trying to hold on to her independence and by far the strongest track on the album. Taking the latest pension for stripped down hip-hop drums and a distorted guitar in the background, Lissie’s voice is full of anger as she sings “I don’t want to be famous if I have to be shameless”. Maybe Miley Cyrus should take a leaf from her book.
Further Away is another decent track, with hints of Cyndi Lauper and an 80’s vibe throughout. “Does anyone love anyone anymore” sings Lissie, giving rise to a feeling of disconnection in today’s society. Tracks such as They All Want You and I Don’t Wanna Go To Work provide a stripped back country feel to the record, with Lana Del Rey being an obvious influence.
You may have noticed by now just how many influences and genres are littered throughout the album, and I think unfortunately that’s what brings it down. There’s no coherency and it feels as though Lissie is hedging her bets by throwing in as much as possible to get everyone interested instead of focusing on a specific genre and making it her own.
Also the first half of the album appears to be much better than the second half. Love in the City is just a bland ballad whereas Cold Fish sounds like it’s trying to be a rock song but ultimately fails.
The album signs off nicely however with album titled track Back to Forever, showing a perfect piano based ballad with a great melody and one of the tracks which really brings out the best in Lissie’s voice.
The album shows a disjointedness to Lissie’s nature, she doesn’t seem to know what she wants to be or what style she wants to take on. For some artists this is the period which brings out their best work, they are forced to choose a genre and concentrate on that, Lissie hasn’t found her genre yet but I think she will do. With glimpses of brilliance, lets hope Lissie can find her own voice on the next album.
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