Album Review: Leigh-Anne – My Ego Told Me To
2 min read
The third and final member of Little Mix to drop their debut album, Leigh-Anne’s project has been a longtime coming. Releasing her first solo single back in 2023, the slow rise resulted in three EPs and multiple songs gaining millions of streams. If nothing else, My Ego Told Me To is set to be a hit with fans old and new, but does it live up to the standard of her ex-bandmates Jade and Perrie?
Looking into My Eyes vinyl crackle and pitched-up vocal sample begin the album with intrigue, but the dub-esc sub-bass and stomping drums take over. Leigh-Anne’s vocals hang prominently over the single verse, the tune almost referencing some of the songs already released with its up-stroke-guitar ending, like following track Dead and Gone and Revival. Previous singles Been A Minute and Burning Up bring in a the afrobeat influence, separated by Goodbye Goodnight, a song that melds fuzzy guitars and big beats into a power ballad that Leigh-Anne chews up throws back out. Most Wanted with Valiant and Rvssian brings the reggaeton beats, while Me Minus U slows things down and strips things back to let Leigh-Anne show off more of her vocal range.
Sunrise feels like a club-ready banger, low-key but groovy. The You ARE a Star interlude adds a nice reprieve before FREE’s reggae guitars and trap-esc beat brings the energy back. Tight Up Skirt and Talk to me nice follow the same pattern, each morphing into the next, almost forming one cohesive song along with Sunrise. If they’re all the soft club bangers then Heaven is the comedown. Woozy piano pulses in and out as Leigh-Anne’s vocals build to gorgeous harmonies in the choruses and play off the bouncing bass throughout the track. It ends with what sounds like a sample of a child singing a line from the chorus, and be it hers or someone else’s, it’s a nice sentiment to end the album on.
My Ego Told Me To is a confident release from someone finding their sound. Its meld of genres feels removed from her contemporaries, enough to stand on its own, and takes enough risks to stay interesting whilst never straying from the core pop aesthetic. If it was a musical popularity contest, the Little Mix trio would truly be neck and neck.
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Writer and Musician, Ryan Bulbeck has been published with a number of online publications, and has worked with a myriad of great artists, both as a performer, and as a producer. His most recent band The 295 are still active, playing shows around the UK.
