Leila - 'Mettle'
It’s been eight years since 2000’s ‘Courtesy of Choice’ but hawk-like electronica whiz Leila Arab is back with the brilliantly titled ‘Blood Looms and Blooms’. First single ‘Mettle’ is a menacing affair, Andy Cox’ superbly ominous guitar work rising over a sea of bubbling, gelatinous electronics, sounding like one of H.R. Giger’s monstrous creations crashing through the Matrix.
‘Heaven Sent’ features Leila’s one-time partner Luca Santucci whose aching vocal line gradually emerges from a muted wash of coarsely textured electronics. Although its icy ebb and flow is undeniably beautiful, it does become somewhat monotonous after a while.
Rounding out the single, ‘Ode to Mr Hermann’ feels like a half-finished sketch rather than a polished B-side. With chords bashed out on a seemingly chalk-choked honky-tonk underpinning unearthly flights of electronics it suggests some ascent into the realm of the supernatural without really carrying the listener along with it. Not to worry. Give ‘Mettle’ a listen and check out ‘Blood Looms and Blooms’.