I’ve heard my share of sad music before, but when an album is tagged as ‘heartbreak’ on Soundcloud you know you’re in for a doozy. Such is the case for Creature of Sight, the debut album from Sydney’s Lëura. Only eight tracks long but Creature of Sight feels like it has been stretched out to an eternity. The melancholy is infectious, the vocals are rousing, the music creeps quietly one moment and roars epically the next. It’s the kind of debut most band’s could only dream of producing.
Lëura’s debut album Creature of Sight is an enthralling exploration of sadness and heartbreak.
That sounds like a grand statement to make, and an arrogant one at that but is the best way to convey how incredible this record is. The experience doesn’t begin when you hit play on your favourite record player. It begins when you glance the album art. The image of Lëura’s face painted in contrasted warm and cool colours is a confronting one. Her image stares achingly out from the cover and you can’t help but gaze back. This very much speaks to the nature of the album; a collection of songs that bare their all.
One of the keys to Creature of Sight‘s success is the lyrics. Anyone can write a sad song, but there is a discernible difference between a sad song and a song that explores sadness. Lëura is a songwriter who has achieved the latter. The pain, whether it be her own or that of another is communicated through slightly ambiguous poetry. But what is poetry if not ambiguous? With its hefty seven run time Hunters and Bleeders is very much the Rime of the Ancient Mariner of the album. “You pulse through my veins” is an incredibly visceral image. None of that ‘light of my life, air that I breathe’ nonsense. The imagery spun here is one of desire and a love not reciprocated. It’s a little sinister but you’d be damned not to be caught up in the melancholy and melodrama.
The lyrics throughout are all top notch, and they are delivered with precision and intent. Lëura doesn’t have to belt out her songs to get the point across. Dave from Gang of Youths does that really well to add tension to his songs, but Lëura takes a more subtle approach to her singing. She effortless shifts from tender crooning to more empowered, commanding vocals. That shift can be heard clearly in Shallows; “But your floods they weep/ If I could sweep the agony from your eyes/ Make you see yourself through mine” transitions the nature of the song from pity to encouraging, the marked shift commanding the tone.
One of the most interesting aspects of Creature of Sight is the music. Upon first listen I thought I had put on a sleepmakeswaves album. The rolling drums, the way the bass snakes itself around the pretty guitars gives each song this brooding, heavy nature. There’s this sense that Lëura is trying to exorcise all her demons at once, the music complying by this sentiment with it’s desperate and dramatic arrangements. Have a listen to E Cosi and Skeleton Swoon and you’ll get my drift
Creature of Sight is one of those rare debut albums. It takes a firm stand and establishes it’s own identity without drawing too many comparisons to its influences. The narrative weaved throughout is relatable yet ambiguous enough to make you want to come back for more. It may be heartbreaking, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t incredibly beautiful.
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