Hailing from the capital and sunny Brighton, Laurie Black brings us her latest offering, in the form of “Noisebleed” her second album and follow-up to her 2023 debut album “Angst Music”.
On Laurie’s website bio, she’s been described as a “classically trained pianist struck by lightning and galvanised to the dark side of synthesis” and also the “lovechild of Victoria Wood and Gary Numan” – interesting!
We’ve been promised “punk-electro sound” and other reviews state that “Noisebleed” is “synth pop which hits you like a freight train” – consider me intrigued, let’s get into it!
Firstly, I LOVE the artwork, the splash of yellow – the white keyboard and the nostalgic font of “Noisebleed” just stands out nicely, whilst it does have a darker background, it would make me pick it up in a vinyl shop.
But onto the music, it’s a 9-track offering, and we kick it off with “It’s Happening”…
It has this deep bass and drumbeat to it and Laurie’s feminine, soft vocals pierce through that beautifully – with repetitions of the lyrics “I remember” and little injections of synth definitely popping in the background – it’s a truly unique sound and despite the electro-synth sound, it is weirdly relaxing in a way and draws you in.
Don’t get too comfy though, as about a minute and a half in, it goes deeper, almost amping up the attitude and going into deeper lyrics and drawing you in further.
This isn’t my usual go-to genre admittedly, as the synth I’ve been used to is that of the 80’s (make of that what you will) – but it’s got a real punk, modern twist to it that is ticking all my boxes.
It’s quite a long song for the first track of the album (in my opinion anyway), but I’m not mad about it, it settles you in for the rest.
“Lemons” is second and this was released a little while before as a single, seemingly getting a positive response on social media, this has the electro-synth intro again and one of the first lyrics saying “squeeze lemons in your enemies eyes” – well I was quite simply wanting to hear more – don’t mess with Laurie, that punk attitude really does seep through this track – I enjoyed the twist of that cliche life metaphor “when life gives you lemons” (you know the one) – Laurie takes it on and makes it her own in this track – it’s a real listening experience.
“Noisebleed” is the third song and the title track of the album – it’s a meaty one at that, standing just short of five and a half minutes – and it’s this heavy synth this time and about 30 seconds in… silence – at first I was shook, then I realised it was for effect (it worked!) – there is a bit more drumwork in this and it works brilliantly.
Despite the title – it’s not just noise or bleeding for that matter – it is purely lyrics describing passive experiences and emotions and being weaved together with that electric backing track – it took me a couple of listens to appreciate the lyrics in full, as it is quite overstimulating, but in a good way that I was just enjoying the tune.
It’s the longest song of the album and if I’m honest, a bit too long for me personally, but it does work and it’s been produced beautifully.
“Beyond Bliss” is next and at this point I’ve definitely settled into Laurie’s style, it’s a long instrumental intro of this one, but after the mini-rollercoaster of “Noisebleed” it was welcome, it’s been put into a cracking track order.
There is almost a gospel, ghost like feel to the vocals in this track at times and it works! I picked up on that quickly, but it still gives space for Laurie to belt out those vocals and even though it is a soft feminine voice, it really does cut through and take centre-stage – which to me shows great skill – especially if I was hearing it live.
“Tastes Like Blood” is track five and we’re just over half-way at this point – this track is different, still within a similar genre, but it’s a faster tempo, more upbeat in a way (not all sunshine and rainbows as such, more turning up the angst and attitude) – it gets the heart racing and the brain thinking as you soak it all in, it breaks up the album nicely!
“Axis” follows and this returns to a bit more deeper tempo, there’s some clever use of production here, lots of echos again, effects on the instrumental, this is a good example of how to weave together lots of different elements seamlessly, it’s brilliant.
Even more so as it completely switches up, getting faster, with some impressive guitar riffs weaved into there – this track is probably my favourite so far, it just oozes electro-punk – it’s fantastic.
“Rewilderness” is next and immediately I was bopping my head to the beat, it was an immediate hook, and again lots of bits seaping through where it could, lots of things catching my attention, without taking it fully away from Laurie – it really is a unique sound and one I’ve been incredibly impressed by – this track shows off more of what Laurie can do and how much she’s willing to experiment – it’s another one that just makes you lost in the moment, another firm favourite for me.
Now for the penultimate track “Deadspace” and well, it feels like I’m in a punk video game, what an intro! this track feels nostalgic and injects synth where possible, whilst really fronting that electro-punk genre, this for me, has the most vocal backing – with a lot more actual singing, that is not criticism, it’s me enjoying another side to Laurie’s music – it’s another rollercoaster in regards to feel and tempo, I didn’t really know what was coming next and it kept me on the edge of my seat – this track was anything but dead space for me.
And finally, “Whale Bones” finishes it off.
It even has a subtle Whale call implemented into the beginning (nice touch!) and it’s slowed right down, and shows that real raw side of Laurie that I had seen emerging more and more throughout the album.
The vocals are fantastic, the mixing is on par and builds the foundation and once again, it keeps you guessing – the end quite literally ends on a high, bringing you further and further in the air and then all of a sudden stops, bringing you back to earth – it leaves you wanting more.
This is a bloody fantastic album, the vocals are mouldable and poignant, the instrumental is seamless and whilst there is a fair bit of experimenting, it doesn’t shy away from the style that Laurie Black has worked for and really impounded on her music – a brilliant offering and one I think could really turn people’s heads.
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