Lachi: Lachi
West African-born and Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter Lachi was born blind and was almost clinically mute throughout school. She began writing songs as a method to communicate with the outside world. On her self-titled debut, Lachi shows off her soulful, piano-driven brand of pop.
The album’s first single “We Can Fly” shows her diverse influences. The songs melody combined with the distorted vocals reminds me of something off of Alanis Morissette‘s Jagged Little Pill. When the vocals get clean, some of what Lachi does with her voice reminds me of Dolores O’Riordan from The Cranberries. If that seems like a lot of 90s comparisons for one track, it is but the track deserves it.
There is something a bit passe about Lachi’s songwriting. Even songs like “Emo Children”, which obviously emo as we know it today did not exist in the 90s, still feels like aping something from a decade and a half ago. The track sounds like a piano version of a Cranberries tune, which is a good thing if you find yourself often listening to the 90s on 9 or could be a bad thing if you prefer your music from the post-Cobain era.
For me, Lachi’s self-titled album is a bit of a toss up. She is obviously a talented singer/songwriter and vocalist and her story is enthralling but there is something about her music that makes me want to scream “get with the times”.
Rating: 4.8/10
MP3: Lachi “We Can Fly”
Buy: iTunes
Lachi: Lachi
