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L’Rain – L’Rain

Dan Webb

New York-based singer and multi-instrumentalist Taja Cheek has produced a truly stunning, well-crafted set of tracks in this puzzling, self-titled debut release under moniker L’Rain.

This album is a deeply personal affair; Cheek’s mother passed away during its production. The resulting nine tracks are an intimate glimpse into her way of dealing with the associated grief.

Her reflective, introspective songwriting and production style fuses pop, R&B, baroque, jazz, psychedelia, gospel and disco in an impressively slick fashion. At times disorienting, gentle guitar arpeggios, soaring saxophone solos and liberally-applied tape manipulation effects whisk the listener away to a place of pensiveness.

Having listened on repeat all day, perhaps our only gripe is that clocking in at only 26 minutes, this album leaves us desperately craving more. L’Rain is an experimental, enigma of an artist and certainly one to watch. We eagerly anticipate hearing which direction she decides to take next.