Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
It doesn’t seem five minutes since Låpsley was performing in venues in Liverpool and beyond the Merseyside border, it feels even less than that she was recognised by various media institutions across the city; in such a space of Time that has occurred, Låpsley has become an institution of great and impeccable renown.
From this point on where her debut album is now a physical entity in its own right, there is no going back, there is no Time in which to feel the urge to play Dorothy and follow a certain road back to when it was all less complicated; for in reality the music is playful, absorbing and dynamic, it really is a Long Way Home from here.
Tellingly inside the covers, amongst the usual crowded space for lyrics and thanks for the first album’s production and sound is a photograph that perhaps sums up the song writer more than anything else, in tandem with the lyrical demonstration, an abundant source of wealth and information in its own right, Låpsley professes a keen eye for truth as she exclaims, “It is my duty to represent the world as I see it”. It is a truth that carries the album onwards, the point of view that reminds those that take time to investigate the woman who grew up in Southport that whilst some may see the statement as a selfish piece of self-promotion, in actual facts it is the beauty of being alive in the modern day arena that allows us to say or write exactly how we feel and not be damned for it.
It is indeed Låpsley’s duty to represent her view of the world and in an album that pounces like a panther in its sole sacred obligation to nature as it hunts down its next meal, that view point is carried across with pleasure and pain staking accuracy, the dedication shown to making the album polished and enjoyable not messed around with as some debuts tend to be.
In songs such as Hurt Me, Operator (He Doesn’t Call Me), Love Is Blind and Seven Months, Låpsley displays true resourceful talent that is unshakable, that binds the listener to her in such a way that the feeling is almost one of mutual confession, of the admission of emotions too deep to convey normally.
For Låpsley, Time has come round to greet her with an assured smile and a hearty handshake but this is only the beginning, this is only the very start of something very beautiful indeed; there is no going back after this, it is after all a Long Way Home.
Ian D. Hall