Review: Starling Teases New Album With Delicious Alt Pop Single No Leader
- by Joe Sharratt
- in Reviews
With three hugely well-received LPs already under her belt (The Heart, The Body, and The Soul), excitement and anticipation are already growing for the debut album of singer-songwriter Starling, To Be Alive, though no release date has been set yet. In the meantime, the album’s lead single No Leader dropped this week and gave us all a peak at what we can expect from this rising star.
Discovered singing in a Soho bar by Zero 7’s Henry Binns, Starling wrote up to 250 songs for To Be Alive, which tackle themes from “broken relationships, dark thoughts, dreams of sexual encounters and a fierce message of being in charge of your own narrative.” To be chosen as the first single from so many songs, Starling must have been supremely confident in No Leader.
Within the opening seconds of the song, it’s easy to see why it rose to the top of the pile. With a delicious vocal intro that hits some high notes, it settles down into a captivating off-kilter beat that propels along this sub-three-minute slice of intoxicating alt-pop. It’s a relatively sparse track, but one that feels like it’s managed to condense a huge volume of ideas into it.
Writing on her official Facebook page on the eve of the release of the single, Starling said: “The love today has been so unbelievable. I feel the luckiest lady in all the world to have you and your support... Sing. Dance. In a time like this we are being called to be our own leaders. And I am your reminder and permission slip to own it. Your shadow. Your light. Your sexiness. Your beauty. Life is for really LIVING and it’s time to let yourself do that.”
With millions of streams already under her belt and comparisons to Lorde and Bastille, No Leader is the single that should take Starling to an even wider audience, and build the hype to huge levels for the upcoming release of To Be Alive.
Listen to the official audio of No Leader on Starling’s Soundcloud page here. Find out more about Starling on her official website.
