reviews / 2015

SUZ - Lacework

Name: SUZ – Lacework
Item: Lacework
Rating: 4.5
Author: Michele Saran

2015 (Irma)

songwriter, trip-hop

by Michele Saran

4.5

Bologna-based Susanna La Polla, aka Suz, follows up "Shape Of Fear And Bravery" (2009) and "One Is A Crowd" (2013) with her third effort, "Lacework". This time the artist heads straight for pop confectionery from the very modus operandi, with bare-bones piano songs piled high with layers of production (courtesy of her trusty collaborator Capogna).

The fairy-tale-like "Billie" is still relatively refined compared to what follows, while other tracks are simply trivial exercises. A few tribal polyrhythms decorate "The Abacist", the dub of "Wall Of Mist" and above all the gamelan of "Test Of Gold", but the substance remains the same: slow, lifeless dirges built almost entirely on amateurish, at times even off-key vocals.

Amid echoes of Olive's "You're Not Alone", the record does manage to fire off one good shot with "Anthemusa", all sharp sounds and a convincing performance. Beyond that, there's no real idea to speak of, just the odd flash of inspiration that seems to have landed there by accident. Plenty of diva posturing, with none of the charisma to back it up.

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06/11/2015

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This article is an English translation of the original Italian text by Michele Saran, published on OndaRock.it. It was translated with the help of artificial intelligence, under the editorial responsibility of OndaRock's editor-in-chief, Claudio Fabretti.

Read the original in Italian · About the English edition