Lianne La Havas Explores the Aftermath of a Breakup on Her New Self-Titled Album
After taking a five-year hiatus, Lianne La Havas released her third studio album in late July. Her new self-titled album depicts the aftermath of a breakup following a lengthy relationship. Equipped with little more than her six-string and her husky voice, La Havas manages to create an indie-folk masterpiece that is woven with jazz elements.
According to Eric Torres’ piece from Pitchfork, “Lianne La Havas is about the singer’s whirlwind relationship with a musician in Los Angeles, and a breakup that spurred a move home to London to piece together the music she’d been working on and take stock of her own personal growth. It’s a theme that she’s touched on before—portioning an ex’s thoughtlessness into heartbreaking parts is some of her bread and butter—but here it comes into focus through sparse instrumentation and a complicated rendering of the mental flux that comes with realizing it’s time to move on.”
All before the age of 30, La Havas took an unintentional five year hiatus from music, ended a long-term relationship, lost both her grandmother and great-grandmother, as well as enduring the death of her mentor, Prince. Following this, Lianne was left to grieve and pick up the pieces of her life; now, she is the only one that gets to decide who she is.
Comprehensively, Lianne La Havas is far more cohesive than her previous two albums. It’s a solid blend of strong guitar-picking and driving percussion, while incorporating stripped back vocals, like on “Green Papaya”. Joni Mitchell is a clear influence on La Havas’ light guitar work and attention to detail on both “Green Papaya” and “Can’t Fight”.
“Paper Thin” serves as a shattering centerpiece to the album, aptly depicting the overall theme of grieving a breakup as a whole and serving as the glue that holds the entire album together. On the track, La Havas sings, “It’s your life, but you’re not the only one who’s suffering,” clearly alluding to the overwhelming reason why the relationship no longer serves her.
In an unconventional move, a cover of Radiohead’s “Weird Fishes” appears mid-record. Upon first listen, the song seems to be a peculiar choice, but proves to be the correct one, as it suits the album’s theme of overwhelming love. La Havas’ husky voice serves the track just as well as Thom Yorke’s haunting timbre does, and by the end of the cover, the song feels as though it belongs just as much to Lianne as it does to Radiohead, if not more.
Lianne made a statement by self-titling her third album, but by producing the entire thing herself, she’s made it clear that she’s finally comfortable with who she is. Appropriately put in the closing track of the album, she sings, “I’m done for settling for so much less than I deserve.”
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| The cover of Lianne La Havas' self-titled third studio album. |
According to Eric Torres’ piece from Pitchfork, “Lianne La Havas is about the singer’s whirlwind relationship with a musician in Los Angeles, and a breakup that spurred a move home to London to piece together the music she’d been working on and take stock of her own personal growth. It’s a theme that she’s touched on before—portioning an ex’s thoughtlessness into heartbreaking parts is some of her bread and butter—but here it comes into focus through sparse instrumentation and a complicated rendering of the mental flux that comes with realizing it’s time to move on.”
All before the age of 30, La Havas took an unintentional five year hiatus from music, ended a long-term relationship, lost both her grandmother and great-grandmother, as well as enduring the death of her mentor, Prince. Following this, Lianne was left to grieve and pick up the pieces of her life; now, she is the only one that gets to decide who she is.
Comprehensively, Lianne La Havas is far more cohesive than her previous two albums. It’s a solid blend of strong guitar-picking and driving percussion, while incorporating stripped back vocals, like on “Green Papaya”. Joni Mitchell is a clear influence on La Havas’ light guitar work and attention to detail on both “Green Papaya” and “Can’t Fight”.
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| La Havas in the Studio / via @liannelahavas on Instagram |
“Paper Thin” serves as a shattering centerpiece to the album, aptly depicting the overall theme of grieving a breakup as a whole and serving as the glue that holds the entire album together. On the track, La Havas sings, “It’s your life, but you’re not the only one who’s suffering,” clearly alluding to the overwhelming reason why the relationship no longer serves her.
In an unconventional move, a cover of Radiohead’s “Weird Fishes” appears mid-record. Upon first listen, the song seems to be a peculiar choice, but proves to be the correct one, as it suits the album’s theme of overwhelming love. La Havas’ husky voice serves the track just as well as Thom Yorke’s haunting timbre does, and by the end of the cover, the song feels as though it belongs just as much to Lianne as it does to Radiohead, if not more.
Lianne made a statement by self-titling her third album, but by producing the entire thing herself, she’s made it clear that she’s finally comfortable with who she is. Appropriately put in the closing track of the album, she sings, “I’m done for settling for so much less than I deserve.”
We’re glad to hear it, Lianne.
You can listen to Lianne La Havas below:
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