LÉA SEN - LEVELS

It's a subtle game, this "LEVELS". A lo-fi acoustic setup that's never démodé, where skeletal neo-soul and r&b memories meet folk and Americana atmospheres, without ever committing to a definitive direction beyond the absolute intimacy of the writing and vocal delivery. The production is spare yet spacious, with guitars up front and rough digital inlays cautiously tucked into the rhythmic background, just enough to give the listen the right dose of contemporary three-dimensionality without feeling like it's chasing any particular trend. Delicate yet personal, "LEVELS" offers an excellent vantage point on today's alternative pop songwriting.

Born in France but relocated to London during the pandemic, Léa Sen has made the most of the English capital's independent potential, forging a free, personal style thanks to her association with Partisan Records and an artistic profile dotted with carefully chosen collaborations – we'd already spotted her alongside Sampha, Vegyn and Oscar Jerome, but it was with Joy Orbison that the songwriter found wider radio exposure thanks to "running", because, among other things, her thin, pouty voice also works wonders in the deep house realm.

At just thirty minutes long, her debut album reads like a personal diary, ten brief levels kicked off by a "HOME ALONE" that immediately lays out this blend of acoustic guitar and subtle digital frictions indebted to Bon Iver. With the catchy "ALIENS", instead, you get the impression of looking at a TLC photo through the warped mirror of an abandoned playground, but it's equally impossible not to think of the bloodless nocturnal aura of Eliza when tracks like "EDGE OF THE MAP" and "VIDEO GAMES" arrive, symptoms of a neo-soul revival tailor-made for Soho jazz clubs.

But we could also bring up Ravyn Lenae on the closing "LOBBY BOY", or recall the barely whispered sensuality of Sabrina Claudio on "MORE THAN HAPPY", a track surrounded in its final moments by a gorgeous cosmic haze. But the album flows even better when it opens onto the spacious, living-room prairie of "LAZY DAYS", which sounds like it stepped straight out of Sheryl Crow's debut, or in the way "HOW?" pleads over a battered downtempo beat, making the lyrical effect even more cutting.

"LEVELS" undoubtedly works best precisely when it slips in some unexpected production trick to elevate voice and writing; a simpler track like "WATERSMOKE" can already give the impression of fading into the background without leaving a trace, since Léa builds everything around subtle, monochrome moods. But when the balance holds, the listen becomes strangely satisfying, because it's precisely in this middle ground between acoustic and digital, between r&b and folk, that Léa reveals herself to be a songwriter with good taste and a healthy dose of personality. Here she is, baring her heart on the bitter "GHOSTWRITER", confessing her inability to love the way she should, with all the doubts and guilt gripping her uncertain young woman's heart:

I have so many blank pages

I promised you I'd write a lot more

[…]

I'd like to have a ghostwriter

A chorus to use

Would it bother you?

Ride the wave of great music

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29/01/2026