Releases
lapsley - These Elements 12" Vinyl LP in stores Dec. 6
These Elements is Holly ‘Låpsley’ Fletcher’s brand-new EP, set for release on November 22, 2019 via
XL Recordings. It is Låpsley’s first new music since Long Way Home, her acclaimed 2016 debut album, a
record that distilled the yearning and heartache of teenage love and cemented Låpsley’s position as one
of the most exciting new artists around the globe. The album was hugely influential (not least on Billie
Eillish, who namechecked it as a major influence on her sound) and would spawn one of the biggest club
tracks in recent years (DJ Koze’s remix of ‘Operator’).
These Elements shows Låpsley leaving behind her teenage years and entering adulthood. Newfound
confidence abounds in the EP’s lead single, “My Love Was Like the Rain,” one of three tracks made with
XL’s in-house engineer, Theo Brown. Its clarity and self-awareness, artistically and personally, is the
product of Låpsley’s years spent honing her craft as a songwriter and producer. It comes accompanied by
a Camille Summers-Valli directed video.
Four years; four elements; four songs. In Låpsley’s own words: “Emotional love, physical desire,
depression and self-worth. Everything I’ve gone through in the last four years is in these four songs.” A
powerful statement on womanhood, These Elements begins to establish Låpsley as a voice of her
generation. It is a glimpse of the brave new direction her life and work are taking.
She says of her forthcoming EP, “Emotional love, physical desire, depression and self-worth. Everything
I’ve gone through in the last four years is in these four songs.”
UK import 12” vinyl comes in a screenprinted reuseable poly bag sleeve, with photography by Maisie
Cousins.
“Låpsley dropped one of the best albums of 2016, the still-great Long Way Home, and then disappeared
into the ether. It turns out, the Brit has spent the last three years living a (so-called) normal life, and she
has the emotional scars to prove it. Holly Fletcher (her real name) returns this week with an evocative
synth-pop anthem called “My Love Was Like The Rain.” While Joe Brown’s production is blissed-out and
ambient, Låpsley’s razor-sharp lyrics make it clear that this is anything but a love song.
Remember when you said my love was like the rain,” the 23-year-old begins. “Not the sweet sound after
the drought, but the pain of it hard on your back in a storm.” The “Operator” hitmaker continues to turn
barbed words into armor as the track progresses. “Remember when you said my love was like a rose,”
she sings. “Not the sweet bloom, but the pain as it scratches your hand.” That leads to an epiphany of
sorts: “So I embodied these elements.” That lyric is particularly significant. So much so, in fact, that
Låpsley named her upcoming EP after it.” – Idolator
Selections:
1.My Love Was Like The Rain
2. Eve
3. Ligne 3
4. Drowning
