Singer songwriters are ten a penny, so it’s a welcome change to stumble upon one who’s worth her weight in gold. Helen Lloyd’s music offers songs that have a refreshing quality to their construction and execution. They possess delicacy and a lightness of touch that is beguilingly immersed in fulsome productions that leave a scintillating tang on the palette.
The vocals are smooth and pure. The songs are unpretentious but there is maturity in the overall structure that belies their apparent innocence. These are classic examples of less being more and superficial complexity being crafted through competent simplicity. For example ‘Happy’ wisely hangs back on a catchy hook and only introduces a pretty little arpeggio on the piano two thirds of the way through that instantly bores it’s way into your memory and on repeated plays you are eagerly awaiting it to begin.
‘In a dream’ kicks off with lush synthesised strings that open out into a beguiling melody that almost has the air of a hymn or an anthem about it. It has the polish, elegance and gravitas of songsmiths with far greater provenance than Helen. ‘Such a little thing’ is an infectious and upbeat ballad that has a delicious effervescence courtesy of Helen’s vocals that simply bubbles with joy.
She appears to be a talent of prodigious writing potential who deserves an audience. The girl certainly knows how to compose a tune and in a musical world where musicality is not as common as it should be then Helen’s is a rare skill. So much music nowadays suffers from self-conscious endeavours to be new and different.
Helen Lloyd produces contemporary songs that wear the tailored appearance of conventionality but they are still stylish and fashionable.
Review by Peter Heydon
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