Lyla Foy – Mirrors The Sky

The reasoning behind west Londoner Lyla Foy’s decision to switch from operating under alter ego WALL to her actual name is, we’re reliably informed, because she “decided to come out from behind her WALL”. Puns aside, Foy’s vocals are so hushed for the most of debut album, ‘Mirrors The Sky’ that it’s arguable that could very well still be hidden.

“Softer than a whisper”, she sings during ‘Only Human’, and that’s as close a description to the songwriter’s voice as it’s possible to get. During ‘Rumour’ and ‘No Secrets’ it’s gorgeous – the organic, understated instrumentation allowing the delicate, folk-ish tones to shine brilliantly. It’s warm, pretty, and quite often stunning.

But – and it is such a shame there’s a but – when backed by keyboards rather than gently-strummed guitars, what’s so beautifully fragile just sounds weak. Whether it’s the keys-led ‘I Only’, or the synthetic-sounding drums of ‘Honeymoon’, ‘Only Human’ or ‘Feather Tongue’, Foy’s otherwise sweet songwriting and soothing voice is cheapened – so much that otherwise promising closer ‘Warning’ could be mistaken for a hastily-uploaded SoundCloud demo.

Which is a shame; there’s so much to like about ‘Mirrors The Sky’ that could’ve been loved instead.