Lava La Rue Drops Out of This World and Great Debut Album ‘STARFACE’ (Review)

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Lava La Rue hasn’t just dropped an album, they’ve dropped a joyous journey into the galaxy of their mind. The West-Londoner has worked on this ‘STARFACE’ concept album for over three years. The project paints a story of their descent to earth, acting as a metaphor for self-discovery. This project is packed with euphoric pop moments, funky punk, dance bliss, and even some rap.

La Rue heads up the NiNE8 Collective – an alt-pop crew that serves a chaotic, rebellious sound. Their music is experimental, instinctual, and eclectic, and seeps into their solo works. With a nod to David Bowie’s ‘The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars‘, ‘STARFACE‘ disregards genres and boundaries. The creative mantra is clear – collaboration and innovation are everything. You can find something for all tastes in this 17-track project.

LOVEBITES

One of my favourite tracks on the project is a song about a queer love triangle. I hear heavy Prince influence throughout the entire album, but in this song, it’s particularly obvious. As a bonafide Prince addict – I love this record. “My girlfriend has a boyfriend,” they sing, “He hasn’t met me yet,”. This pop-rock fusion has a chorus that takes us on a high. A bursting electric keyboard and confessional lyrics made it an instant stand-out single.

Better (feat. Cuco)

The musician of Latvian-Jamaican heritage embraces collaboration and shines a light on many indie artists’ friends across this project. Cuco is one of them. ‘Better‘ is a song plucked straight from the 70s. Paired with a kooky guitar and funky rhythm, they offer an uplifting, ‘everything is groovy’ message. Cuco delivers a breathy, gentle verse that really adds to the calmness of the track. This lower energy track is an interesting choice to kick off a project that has a lot of higher energy moments later. However, it sets the story up nicely of La Rue’s caterpillar to butterfly moment. They proudly say at the end of the track, ”Cause while your wins might have brought you here / It’s the losses that guided you too.’.

FLUORESCENT / Beyond Space (feat. NiNE8 and Feux)

Here is one for the rap fans. A hidden gem in the middle of this album, this is a lyrical record that builds and builds, to explode into a euphoric, psychedelic chorus. This artist shows their versatility by delivering boastful bars. This record showcases the brilliance of NiNE8 and Feux respectively, and their ability to bounce off one another.

Final Thoughts

I appreciate any album that caters to multiple moods and genres, where there is something for everybody. The only downside to these albums is that not every song can be to everybody’s tastes. There are certain songs on this record that don’t connect with my tastes at the moment and others that feel like perfect listening. This project is like a treasure trove, find your gold and get it on your daily playlist. Whilst some may feel LPs like these are too chaotic, zipping in too many directions, I disagree. I’m all for this experimental era – inclusive and free. With this intergalactic-inspired debut, there’s no denying, Lava La Rue is a rising star.

Rating: 8/10

Lava La Rue is on Instagram and TikTok. Check out more album reviews here and stream the album below.

About The Author