Lianne La Havas: Follow the Guitar Into the Song
Lianne La Havas nearly left the beginning of “Paper Thin” for the morning. Instead, she got up and caught the guitar idea. A small argument in favor of recording the thing before sleep wins.
In her track-by-track conversation with Apple Music, La Havas traces that song’s slow development into her self-titled 2020 album. She describes the finished record as a relationship story with a beginning, middle and end.
Her account of “Weird Fishes” gives us another way into it. After recording the Radiohead song with a new band, she recognized the working method she wanted for the rest of the album: musicians together in a room. The arrangement and the people helped the direction become clear.
Take “Bittersweet,” “Paper Thin” and “Weird Fishes” as a short introduction. They let you follow an original song’s place in the narrative, an idea that took years to finish, and a borrowed composition made personal through interpretation.
There is something encouraging in the process. An unfinished guitar part can wait. A familiar song can reveal a new method. The right group of musicians can help someone recognize what they were trying to make.
Return to the whole album afterward, especially its closing stretch. La Havas gave the story an ending; it deserves to be heard in order.
Explore the official release and listening links.
Official release artwork. Source: Warner Records UK; image source: Apple Music. Artwork source.