Låpsley - These Elements

Låpsley dials-up the tempo on her first new material since her impressive debut full-length back in 2016, retreat from the spotlight failing to dampen a knack for smooth neo-soul sheen. The placid piano driven R&B that pumped through ‘Long Way Home’ continues to guide the Merseysider’s ambient armoury, with growing reliance on brooding synth rhythms lending a subterranean twist to the EP’s fifteen-minute length. A surge of electronic embers storm through the stirring ‘My Love Was Like The Rain’, a lead single that ignites a quasi-disco dappled driving pulse, while the tender refrains of ‘Drowning’ act as an evocative, if downbeat, bookend. Låpsley nails down an at times powerful and emotive display, albeit without truly moving beyond the formula sported on her first record. ‘These Elements’ offers a snapshot of Holly Fletcher’s current creative waypoint, subtle hints of an eclectic future direction shining through - enough to hook and sate interest.