There are many ways to win someone’s heart. Shouting “I killed your dog” at the top of your lungs is certainly one of the most direct. L’Rain, a multi-instrumentalist, singer and genre-bender from Brooklyn, shouted just that on her 2023 album, which was incredibly fascinating not just because of this unusual confession. Folk, soul, jazz, noise: musically, there was an incredible amount going on. That’s the case again on her latest album. But: it’s the better sort of »a lot going on«. fata morgana is, like its predecessor, a work of many styles. But this time, the individual scenes the music creates flow more seamlessly into one another; there’s a much closer narrative connection between the tracks. And even if, in terms of sound, you suddenly find yourself back in the weirdest place — it actually makes sense that you’ve ended up there.
‘with time’ draws you in, just as honey draws in a bee. This slowly building jam without a climax leaves you longing for a full R&B album in the style of Erika de Casier or Rosie Lowe. But just as you’ve unbuttoned even a third of your shirt, a nautical saxophone and an indecisive sub-bass urge you to keep your composure: perhaps there aren’t any sexy times ahead after all! Before you know it, you’re stuck with some utterly unlikely alt-reggae and are glad you’re still fully clothed. On »soulless cycle« it finally arrives, the interim highlight. But, oh dear, it’s not what you’d have expected. Like everything else here. See the title. Perhaps there’s still hope for the dog after all.
Fata Morgana
