Lyla Foy at Rough Trade East

It would be easy to say that Lyla Foy has transformed into a young woman by releasing the new record Mirrors the Sky under her name and not under the moniker WALL – she has broken the wall that divides teenagehood and maturity. Her new record is surprisingly out on Sub Pop, a label usually more indie rock than indie pop, and has been critically acclaimed worldwide.

At Rough Trade East, the young artist presented her new work – a quiet and soft album of radio pop music – with a bunch of musicians (drummer, bass player, keyboardist and programming, plus herself at the guitar) for about 40 minutes. The record is a poppy mix between Jamie xx and Lorde, where Foy sings gently the words of her songs. “When I first started writing for the project, I wanted everything to be really focused on the melodies, but also really simple and minimal,” says Foy, “just using a lot of bass, and simple drum patterns. So it was completely different to anything I was doing at the time. I wanted to try something new, and that one song happened and I felt like it was the beginning of something.”

Left to Wonder, Shoestring, Easy and the other songs from the latest Mirrors the Sky share the same skills and features: a morbid and tender pop with a whispered voice and minimalistic music (a bass, few beats à la The XX), but onstage during the live performance Foy tries to fill the music up with more guitar, programming and drums. This is a wise choice, but there is still more work to do, more sophistication to reach in order to offer a stunning live show. To date, this young woman has all the potential to became the next big thing, but she needs to improve a little bit more first.

Lorenzo Cibrario

For further information and future events visit Lyla Foy’s website here.

Watch the video for Left to Wonder here: