Heart to Mouth showcases LP’s chops
North American audiences get a taste of album racing up the charts in Europe
One of the best descriptions ever applied to LP, the stage name of Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Laura Pergolizzi, is James Christopher Monger writing in Allmusic.com calling her “part Feist and part Joan Jett.”
That description captures both the range and the honesty heard in such songs as Girls Go Wild, Recovery and When I’m Over You.
The first trio of singles to be released on LP’s latest album Heart To Mouth showcase the chops that have seen the artist pen tunes for everyone from Christina Aguilera to Rihanna in recent years.
When the song Muddy Waters from Lost on You (2016) closed out the final scene of Season 4 of Netflix’s Orange is the New Black, the lens focused on the artist’s testimonial songcraft.
LP is hardly a newcomer to the music business. Since dropping the 2001 debut Heart-Shaped Scar to widespread acclaim but falling victim to the era’s label buyouts, the singer has been building international buzz.
Lost On You has passed over 700 million streams worldwide and the title track is diamond-certified in France, four times platinum in Italy, and gold in Belgium and Switzerland. Heart to Mouth is racing up charts in Russia, Poland and Greece.
Now LP is getting enough attention in North America to go on a headlining tour.
“It’s been a bit of a ride since I signed with Warner in 2011, then was dropped, then signed to Vagrant, then Vagrant was bought by BMG, and then life changed a bunch because they started to license stuff to other European labels,” said LP.
" ... I’ve toured constantly since 2016, which has meant that I’ve barely had any time to do any writing for anyone else, which was what I was all about before.”
The band configuration out on the road is required to perform everything from ornately orchestrated soul-ballads such as One Night in the Sun, funky jams like The Power, or the piano-driven pieces like Recovery. If budgets weren’t an issue, it might be nice to embellish the core quartet with some strings or whatnot. But there is also love of the different ways to present the music.
“We get the job done well, and I like to think that what we do is in service of the songs,” LP said.
“Because you don’t want the live experience to be exactly the recorded one, it’s not as immediate. I’m really looking forward to playing these new songs which I really haven’t done live before, aside from Dreamer which has been going over really well.”
Every artist hankers to have a positive reception to material that hasn’t been released yet. It’s safe to say that Heat to Mouth’s dozen songs are all likely to curry favour with fans.
The material is stylishly crafted and LP’s sporting some pretty sly style on the new album cover. The burnt orange suit screams confidence, while the fairly dishevelled position the musician strikes on a chair says the ride hasn’t all been wine and roses.
In interviews, the singer has referenced how both her career and her writing were on the streets before and now they are driving down the highway.
“Man, I had that suit handmade, it would be pretty hard to find off-the-rack in that colour,” said LP.
“It’s what I wanted, and that’s sort of how I see that comparison as well, I’ve gotten more and more direct with my writing and it feels like it’s really ringing true. Especially melodically, I feel that I’m going straight to my heart.”
Admitting to favouring concepts as a launching point for writing rather than working from an initial feeling of a melody, the songs on Heart to Mouth were largely penned on one of the most basic instruments.
“I really like to write on the ukulele — it’s easy — and guitar, too,” said LP. “Then in the studio it becomes a process of me and Mike del Rio working together like a band on how to go a little harder on the sonic parts.”
One of the most striking things about LP is the ornate torso-spanning boat tattoo seen on the Heart to Mouth cover.
The tattoo is a reminder of the creative journey.
“I always hated that phrase that it’s about the journey not the destination, but I got the tattoo because I discovered that it is about the journey, and the boat represents that,” said LP.
“Because it has gotten me to that place in my career I was aiming for and given me perspective of where I’m going to now. I’m really happy to be in that place.”
Not quite sailing on clear waters, but aware that the journey is going on and it’s headed to the right place. LP appears to be in the right place at the right time with this new recording.