Slowing things down with a vulnerable and heartbreaking track, Lo Lauren brings listeners âJust Friendsâ.
For her debut single, Lo Lauren makes a statement. Her vocals are elegant and poised and make this beautiful neo-pop jam. She has already completely mastered the art of creating a mood and generating the desired emotion from the story, truly a powerful gift. The stripped-back nature of the track allows her voice to shine. The slow build of the track to a heavier bass line is deeply moving. Her rhythmic, spoken-word verses and future-facing vocoder chorus which seems to transcend any genre labels.
âItâs very stripped back, and it allows me space to grow, both vocally and in productionâ Lo explains. With the opening line, âWe thought we could be friends, who thought that fucking was friendly?â Lo sets out her agenda immediately, tackling the age-old âare we just friends?â question; âItâs a pretty clear concept - itâs very literalâ she says.
Breaking away from the pop mold, Lo will introduce her debut âJust Friendsâ with a spoken-word monologue video, rather than a traditional music video. âTheatre is deep-rooted in me, and I love performance on every level, so I want to do something bold for every song. Having a monologue as your opening statement as an artist is something unique.â
Lo started out studying Musical Theatre at the BRIT school and was always destined for a career on some kind of stage. However, it didnât occur to her to become a songwriter until her love of English led her to study English Literature A-Level at the school. âI love analyzing language and exploring how everyone can interpret things differently,â she says, âAs soon as I realized I could combine English Literature and language, and my love of expression with performance, I just wanted to write songsâ.
After graduating, Lo quickly became a part of a burgeoning songwriting scene in London. Relatively new to the game having only taken up songwriting at the age of 17, Lo Lauren has an incredibly impressive CV having written songs with the likes of Call Me Loop, Blithe, Hannah Jane Lewis and Jack Vallier.
Review by Hannah Schneider