A decade into her career, Canadian electronic artist Jessy Lanza has built a reputation as a cult favourite in the underground scene. Since arriving in 2013 with ‘Pull My Hair Back’ (a wistful debut that NME said was “probably a little too icy and detached to blow up, despite its pop sensibility”) and 2016’s celestial and otherworldly ‘Oh No’, her understated electro-R&B fusion has gradually become more marketable. Her most recent record, 2020’s club-ready ‘All The Time’, boasted nuggets of pop potential and suggested a crossover was imminent.
Now, with her fourth album, the sensually shimmering ‘Love Hallucination’, that time has come. While Lanza has always weaved pop elements into her tracks, albeit subtly, the producer, vocalist and songwriter would previously pull back if a song went a little too far in that direction, by interjecting experimental, murkier sounds.
In this sense, her latest collection represents a sonic evolution, as Lanza confidently leans into the glossier side of her artistry and strides toward pop euphoria (while retaining an interesting club-ready tint thanks to co-production from Pearson Sound, Jacques Greene and Tensnake). This is most evident on euphoric album opener ‘Don’t Leave Me Now’, whose punchy synth-drums, handclap hi-hats and piano-house keys transport the listener to a summer festival big top, and ‘Limbo’, a glittering trip to synth-pop heaven with a chant-like hook that recalls Carly Rae Jepsen. Similarly, the soft vocal delivery of ‘Don’t Cry On My Pillow’ makes the most of Lanza’s breezy falsetto.
Elsewhere, there are plenty of immersive soundscapes that help to form a bridge between Lanza’s more abstract early work; the ethereal ‘Casino Niagara’ and breakbeat-lite roller ‘Midnight Ontario’ land somewhere between Janet Jackson and Kelela. The sparkly yet gloopy ‘Big Pink Rose’ works to the same effect, alongside the shadowy squelches of ‘Drive’ and the strangely hypnotic ‘I Hate Myself’.
The album’s closing tracks take things in a more sensual turn. After Lanza makes her needs clear on ‘Gossamer’, whose layered harmonies and a funky beat coalesce seductively, the twinkling ‘Marathon’ comes to an explicit climax after a luxurious saxophone solo. All that’s left is for infatuated album closer ‘Double Time’ to simmer things down as Lanza dreamily concludes “still I want you every night, I’m coming back”.
Across 11 tracks, Jessy Lanza has delivered her strongest album yet: ‘Love Hallucination’ is a record that boldly soars towards synth-pop ecstasy while retaining its experimental desire.
