Låpsley - I’M A HURRICANE I’M A WOMAN IN LOVE

Dig into the back story of Låpsley’s fourth album and there’s a lot to digest. Not only was the record written around the unfolding of the singer’s recent experience with polyamory - and her subsequent shift back to a monogamous pairing - but the break-up in question also happened to be with the album’s producer. As such, ‘I’M A HURRICANE I’M A WOMAN IN LOVE’ is undoubtedly her most personal, intimate record to date, helped by the fact it’s also her first fully self-released work. Moving away from the hooky synth-pop that’s defined her career so far, there’s a folk-flecked warmth to the tracks on ‘I’M A HURRICANE…’ that feel decidedly more well-worn for the singer, with the fluttering introduction of ‘HURRICANE’, the finger-picked ‘CHURCH’ or swirling ‘NORTH FACE’ offering up candid revelations on love, longing, doubt and womanhood (“I’m 20 something in my prime years / I still don’t see it,” she sings on ‘CHURCH’). Equally, there are still some electro-pop moments at play: ‘WOMAN LIKE THAT’ instantly conjures up memories of M83’s heyday, while ‘SINCE YOU LEFT’ and ‘JERICHO’ both bear a certain ‘80s strut. It’s perhaps ‘THE VISION’, though, that’s the most intriguing track here. An ode to her love of poetry, its spoken word mantra on the plight of women in the face of the patriarchy feels bold, if a little out of place. Admittedly, ‘I’M A HURRICANE…’ doesn’t always feel like the most consistent of albums, especially given its striking title; it does, however, give us a clearer window into Låpsley herself.