Way I Am
Mensch House, 2019
8/10
A California born and raised songstress, Lea Love brings her Japanese, Hawaiian, and Samoan heritage into some very thoughtful and eclectic tunes that are shaped by her life experiences.
The title track starts with Love’s expressive vocals, where cultured soul and pop ideas come into the melodic and breezy formula, and “One Too Many” follows with hints of reggae in the island smooth track.
Further along, “No Good At Love” has the songstress entering romantic territory with finger snappin’, cautious fun, while “No Feels” brings us a percussive heavy, upbeat and bouncy excursion into her universal pop prowess.
Near the end, “Set The Mood”, with Jemere Morgan, punctuates the mood with a graceful duet of stylish, club friendly sounds, and “Murdera” ends the EP with more traces of reggae in Love’s calculated and flawless delivery.
An artist who has been writing songs since the age of 10, Love’s strategic use of R&B, reggae, soul and pop comes together for an extremely enjoyable and memorable listen here.
Travels well with: Kelly Hafner-If It’s Love; Amy Winehouse- Frank