By Monk
I have to admit that Canadian folk/blues songstress Layla Zoe is another talent who, to my own shame, I have not had cross my radar until this, her latest, evocative, album popped through the usually heavily-guarded letterbox here at ÜRHQ. Having said that, her name does ring a vague bell back in the darkest recesses of my memories, so I’m fairly convinced that there has to be at least one of her previous CDs lying somewhere in an equally dark corner of my studio… On the strength of this latest offering from this incredible talent, I’ll be making a concerted effort to find same in my forthcoming early spring clean…
The album sees her once again teaming up with German guitarist and producer Henrik Freischlader, who himself has just released his latest solo album, rekindling an affiliation last ignited nine years ago
With vocal references from Billie Holiday and Sister Rosetta Tharpe to, inevitably, Janice Joplin, via Patti Smith and the much under-estimated Elkie Brooks and perhaps, more surprisingly, Anastascia and P!nk, Zoe possesses one of those voices that pulls so many emotional and emotive triggers, by reaching deep down into your soul with its combination of honesty, purity and self-belief. From the fiery blues rock of ‘Honey Pie’ through the immediate scene changer of the countrified Americana that is ‘Praying Kind’, the Nico torch-bearing title track, Zoe pulls and tugs but also saturates and seeps as she works her sublime vocal magic.
Content to nestle comfortably in the back row for most of the album, ‘We’re All The Same’ sees guitarist Freischlader summon, as he does several times on his own, aforementioned, solo opus, his innermost Gary Moore, wrenching every ounce of emotion from his fretboard as he perfectly complements, yet again, the acute, laconic lyricism of the singer, to whom Freischlader pays due homage by admitting his role, on this occasion, as part of the supporting cast, but a vital one which serves to accentuate the beauty and joy of the main performance.
‘The World Could Change’ is a stunning album. Its creator has one of the most powerful, distinctive and individual voices I have heard in a while. One that deserves to be heard, if it can cut through the corporate bullshit that dominates every aspect of this business. In every respect, this is an album that took me totally by surprise. I don’t normally like surprises, but I loved this one. You will too. I guarantee it.
- ‘The World Could Change’ is out now. You can get your copy HERE.
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