EP Review: LibraLibra – Hail Mary
LibraLibra
Hail Mary
Words by Gary Lambert
I work on the rule of thumb that some people are fans of LibraLibra and some people just haven’t heard them yet. With their first EP release Hail Mary, the Brighton-based four-piece are ready to increase their fans once more. If you’re just scanning this article, I’ll save you time and tell you it’s brilliant.
Hail Mary is a four song, six track EP opening with one of two eponymous musical flourishes (Hail Mary II the penultimate track is a Hail Mary I played in reverse). Whilst Hail Mary isn’t going to make your party playlists as it is primarily a homage to the pastoral music you associate with the church, the synth crescendo the track finishes with is a nice rock n roll two-fingered salute.
The first song proper on the EP is Lonely Girl which I have previously explained my love for. Following on from that is Rock Band which has a beautifully clear pop sound like late nineties Madonna but with the LibraLibra signature darkness to the lyrics. The Yin and Yang contrast of subject matter and tone is something LibraLibra have truly nailed. It is discomforting to find these tales so pleasurable. But with such powerful, loud musicality to Rock Band you are dragged into enjoying yourself with the unstoppable force of gravity.
Juicy Lucy, released earlier this summer, is LibraLibra taking on rock n roll misogyny and turning it on its head reminiscent to Estrons’ Make A Man. This is a heavy hitting, PLAY IT LOUD track that you will love I’m sure. The journey that Beth Cannon’s vocal takes on Juicy Lucy is a marvellous showcases of her vocal abilities is mind-blowing. From the sweet bubblegum opening of I want your Juicy Lucy to the finale where she exclaims she wants to screw you, watch you, fuck you like a feminine Gene Simmons, Beth’s talents are laid front and centre. I could not think of a better way to showcase her vocals…
That is apart from the beauty that is to follow with Listerine. A piano-led ballad lets the whole world know that whilst LibraLibra can create a dirty disco with the best of them, they can also turn it down so that there is relatively nothing to distract you from the quality of the players involved. Lonely Girl, Rock Band and Juicy Lucy are all very complicated tracks to listen to, a maelstrom of genres and sounds coming together with constant, pleasurable violence. Listerine is often minimal, magnificent, and at brief interludes, thunderous too. It is the kind of showcase of a band’s talents that arena gig encores are made for.
If church music was more like Hail Mary I might be tempted to give up atheism and start a mosh pit in the pews.
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