Leerone

Vu passed along singer-songwriter Leerone's debut full-length for me to post about and I'm so glad he did. Usually when a musician is labeled a "female singer-songwriter", the thought of acoustic songs comes to mind for some reason, but Leerone exceeded my expectations.

Imaginary Biographies is Leerone's first full-length album featuring eleven original compositions with wonderful piano ballads. On choosing the title of the album, she said, "I think of this batch of songs as little stories and worlds that exist in my mind. I was thinking a lot about when something is imaginary, specifically that we choose to keep it imaginary, or to make it real. That's sort of where the title of the album came from." On the opening track "To Fill the Void", she provides some uplifiting words for anyone who's had uncertainty with their life; "Who are they to tell you what your life is supposed to mean? Why are you so willing to be at their mercy?". On "JUNK / Peace of Mind", she dismisses the media saying she can't find peace of mind among all the advertisements inviting consumption and greed, TV because it's too depressing, and People magazine because of its "rhetoric of stardom".

With songs like these, it urged me to listen to her two previous EPs, In This Life, On This Road and Hail to the Queen. They sound a little more raw and stripped down compared to Imaginary Biographies. Hail to the Queen is just her and her piano, whereas In This Life, On This Road features other instruments accompanying her piano and beautiful voice. A song that stood out while listening to these EPs was "All Is Well" from In This Life, On This Road. It's a simple song about her naivety as a child. She believed her life would be like Snow White, but as she grew older, that dream faded away and seemed intangible. Leerone is a great musician whose releases I look forward to, especially with her choice of subject matter in her songs and amazing musical compositions.


Happy New Year to everyone! Here's to another year of sharing music with everyone who visits the site with open ears. I'm glad that WHM has a variety of contributors, all with their own personal musical interests. I'm looking forward to 2009 for some new releases.