What does Elizabeth Leslie sound like?
The review of Elizabeth Leslie – Manifestation
Somewhere between darkwave, electronica, gothic pop and synthwave sits Elizabeth Leslie. She is a curious artist because she’s equally happy moving her music around any of those sectors in her genre bleed over. Regardless of what she is creating, you can be assured it will be brooding, theatrical and gothically angsty.
Each track of Elizabeth Leslie’s new EP “Manifestation” takes a slightly different approach to underground gothtronica. They all centre on a big beat and feature Leslie’s monotone vocal delivery too. When I say monotone, it is deceptively delivered as underneath one monotone delivery she’ll often place a more melodic layer to her voice too. For instance, the French “Miroir” uses an ever descending second vocal on the chorus as the kick drums slap, the pipeorgans chime and the thick electronic bass lines vibrate. German “Kugelsicher” is a dramatic mixture of mechanical synths and percussion to emulate a harsh machine for the verses. The chorus has dramatic panoramic synth pads for dystopian times. It also features some excellent pitch bending for added anxiety and tension. “If I Could Feel You” evokes Thompson Twins b-sides where some of their darker synthwave work shined through. “Regicide” closes out the EP in dancey style with a malevolent track of minor chord heaven. Between ghostly cries, screeching siren synths and a harsh beat, Leslie performs the track like a diva anthem for the underworld.
Each track showcases Elizabeth Leslie’s ability to create music that feels dangerous. There’s a cold angst that writhes throughout and be it through distorted vocals, heavy basslines or eerie chord progressions, it never let’s go. “Manifestation is another fantastic EP” from this upcoming darkwave electronica artist. A big slice of respect too for singing in three languages in the space of four songs too! I can’t wait to see where Elizabeth Leslie takes her music next but she’s certainly got an amazing talent for writing anthems for the dark side.
Recommended track: Kugelsicher
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Elizabeth Leslie - Manifestation