What does Elizabeth Leslie sound like?

Nihilistic underground darkwave synthpop.

The review of ‘Eagle, Owl, Sickle’ by Elizabeth Leslie

Following on from several stunning EPs a few years ago, Elizabeth Leslie returns with her aggressive dark synthpop that sounds like it is on its way home from a German techno club. With her transition to English lyrics, none of the laser-sharp declarations of strength and defiance lose their charm. In anything, ‘Eagle, Owl, Sickle moves away from the techno beats slightly and embraces dystopian oppressive synths and keyboards to provide the party backdrop to the end of the world.

photo of Elizabeth Leslie — Elizabeth Leslie

Straddle darkpop and darkwave, each song on the EP has its own brand of danger. The opening track ‘Power’ has throbbing kick drums and dissonant, twisted pulsating synths that clash slightly against each other like a warning siren. Leslie threads her voice through an aggressive robotic distortion as she declares “you can’t take my power away”. The militant tom drums snap at her heels and not a single note sounds safe or appropriately placed. It is a visceral opener that sets the tone fantastically for the rest of the songs to come.

‘Napoleon’ is more melodic and embodies a drowned twilight sound. The synths sparkle over a numbing bass pulse that wrestles the trip-hop beat to the floor. Again Elizabeth’s penchant for bleep-bloops that sound like they’re in a frenzy takes over for some excellent codas. Removed from the vocoders, her voice shines like a gothic girl group. ‘Shadow-banned’ is a cinematic track that brings in a dramatic synth orchestration over something you’d imagine Fischerspooner to create. “Your mind has been colonised by the convert science of deception” Elizabeth growls like an anime end boss. The song, like the EP, doesn’t do anything in halves. The absolute commitment to creating a danceable hellscape that teeters at the point of comedic silliness is brave. By committing fully, it’s a song I can get behind on repeat and let myself go to it. Clearly, it unlocks my inner anime villain arc…

‘Time-lord’ is not about a certain doctor. Instead, it is a hypnotic warping drone of moon names and space science terms being reeled off without emotion. The song shapeshifts like time is collapsing in on itself but the chord pattern and vocal tone never changes. It reminds me of songs like Tori Amos’ ‘Datura’ and Kate Bush’s ’50 Names for Snow’ where a list is read out to a mood piece. The mood piece here is like an alien disco, but it holds a similar space. The EP closes with ‘Owl Eyes’. Here, Elizabeth Leslie merges the orchestral pop with the darkwave side that dominates most of the record. Think Marc Almond in his darkest and most flamboyant but being delivered by a dispassionate artist who is channelling an evil dictator and you’ve got ‘Owl Eyes’. It is again, cinematic, dramatic, beautifully gothic and richly charged with energy that you cannot ignore.

What I love about this EP is how every beat, note, word and tone is out to grab you. The orchestrated elements are bold, explosive and pointed. Each song has an undeniable stage presence. You can’t listen passively to this release because it is doing so much to drag you into its oppressive, chaotic world. Some of the ideas are so close to being hilariously camp. The execution is so sincere and theatrical that Elizabeth Leslie sticks the landing every time, so it feels a lot – but never too much. Ultimately ‘Eagle, Owl, Sickle’ is a darkwave attack on the senses and I’m here for it. Turn up the music and let us submit to our digital overlords if this is how we’re going to party as the world falls down.

Recommended track: Shadow-banned

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