Låpsley – Understudy EP

I suspect it’ll be a big year for Låpsley. Word of her grew during 2014; whispers of a teenager who was producing interesting sounds and vocals from her bedroom in Southport – culminating in a place in the BBC Music’s Sound Of 2015 longlist, and her debut EP Understudy.

You’ll recognise the opener ‘Falling Short’ – it’s garnered quite a bit of radio play, and has been championed by DJs like Annie Mac and BBC Introducing’s Huw Stephens. It’s sparse – almost haunting – with piano chords chiming away underneath Låpsley’s unique vocal. There’s something about her voice which makes you sit up and listen; but I can’t quite put my finger on what it is. Nevertheless, the movement between her natural voice and manipulated vocals works brilliantly and highlights the heartfelt lyrics throughout all of her songs.

Lyrics like, “Sweeping through on a dark night/Lifting me up into arms tight/Open up my mind/And it becomes you” or “And it’s times like these/That you wish you were/A 8896 wishing bird/And nobody seems to fly at your level/Just go faster than the others” from ‘8896’.

Or the bereft-sounding “You keep shaking me off to another on the dance floor” from closer ‘Dancing’; a mournful song of lost love at the disco, where Låpsley – real name Holly Fletcher – describes herself as always being “an understudy” with “two left feet”.

Perhaps it’s the stripped back nature of Låpsley’s music that makes you stop and listen a little harder. Maybe it’s the longing in her voice, or the interesting loops and electro-trickery. Whatever it is, Understudy is a promising EP, and though only four tracks long, shows fantastic potential.

Understudy is available from iTunes.