Album Review Kyla La Grange - While Your Heart’s Still Beating

Being flung into fame in your early 20s is never sold as plain sailing, but on ‘While Your Heart’s Still Beating’ Kyla La Grange gracefully reflects on her spiralling youth, taking cues from electro-pop superstar Robyn in rhythm and dynamism. The record toys with the universal notion of making the most of life, ‘Neverland’ positing that familiar post-night out restlessness: “But I’m still staring in the mirror at 3am / Sad to wash the glitter off,” and ‘Set You Free’ remarking on fleeting late night engagements. Where earlier work exercised her frustration towards nascent lovers, late nights and misplaced naivety, here she directs the narrative to express a memorial to those exact moments. A natural and elegant evolution of character, delivered in a bundle of bounding synth-pop choruses, withheld electro soundscapes and deft introspection.