Album Review: LAYA, Um, Hello

LAYA

Um, Hello (released April 8, 2022)

As most of you Soul In Stereo OGs know, I’ve been in this album review game for a loooooong time now, pouring over countless albums, LPs and mixtapes to shout out music’s brightest and best.

Honestly, it’s a task that has become a lot less fulfilling in recent years as hip-hop and R&B have become more stale and formulaic. It’s hard to get excited about new music when 90% of the game either sounds like a tired Transformer or Migos Clone No. 4395. Every so often, a well-meaning friend (probably concerned that the endless autotune and trap drums are melting my brains) will ask “why do you spend so much time listening to everything? This music ain’t even for us anymore.”

The real reason? Well, it’s why I love music in the first place – the art of discovery; that moment of bliss when you find an artist you instantly connect with, whose production resonates with you and and writing inspires you.

Digging through the rough to find that one diamond sometimes feels like a fool’s errand.

Until you finally find it.

That newest diamond is spelled L-A-Y-A.

I was vaguely familiar with LAYA due to the viral success of her track “Sailor Moon,” which features an incredible video seeping with 90s anime nostalgia.

Yes I’m a grown man with a whole wife, mortgage and 401K who STILL loves Sailor Moon, LET ME LIVE.

However, it wasn’t until earlier this week that I decided to binge a view of her videos in anticipation of her latest release. And MAN, they absolutely blew me away. It’s pretty easy to see why Missy Elliott recently cosigned her work. LAYA feels like the second coming of the Supafriends clique – boundless creativity, sultry vocals, biting humor and a vision that feels light-years ahead of her peers.

Mark my words: LAYA is next up. Her new EP, Um, Hello, just adds more fuel to that raging fire.

Um, Hello is her first release under the Warner Records umbrella but mostly includes her independently released material. That’s fine by me, because those songs KNOCK.

“Closed Case” is a great choice to open the EP, as it’s the perfect reflection of LAYA’s talent. The audacious horns, the bold lyrics – and yes, even a dash of talkbox flavor (that thankfully doesn’t overpower the track, it’s just a set piece). It’s the merging of 90s nostalgia, modern-day arrangements and futuristic creativity that makes each song feel like a new sonic adventure. Word to Dreamcast.

The biting “Bitter” thrives not just from LAYA’s venomous lyrics but in her cooing delivery:

We the newwwwwwwww
You can assuuuuuuuume
That mean the doooooom
For youuuuuuuu
We ain’t amuuuuuuuused
With regular tuuuuuuunes
Chucking the deuuuuuuce
At you boo make it two

Her hilarious put-downs make songs like “Too Up” a lot of fun (“you hate the fact I ain’t your date”) and her confidence soars on “Calling Me” (“I’m comin’ in fast, I ain’t comin’ in last”), which features probably my favorite production on the set.

Speaking of, it’s LAYA’s production that really sets her apart from the pack. It’s very easy to get lost in the trippy soundscapes of “Undress;” the woozy beat ripples along expertly as LAYA seduces her man with her siren song. And in true 90s R&B fashion, I think I prefer the hypnotic sounds of the “On Sight” prelude over the actual full version, which while still pretty good, is the only song here that feels like a modern-day R&B track. Besides, 90s fans know that a song’s interlude version almost always beat out out the full version. Thems just the facts.

And speaking of the 90s, “Crazy Down” is a cover done right, thanks to a mind-bending interpolation of Brandy’s “Wanna Be Down.” It feels like it was plucked from a multiverse where Missy produced Brandy’s debut album, and I’m here for it.

LAYA’s music excels by feeling totally fresh, yet instantly familiar. Though it’s a relatively brief EP, Um, Hello is easily among 2022’s top releases so far and has me salivating for an eventual full-length album.

As she reminds y’all on “Brag,” “Don’t hop on the bandwagon once it’s in the news.”

Go ahead and join us on the bandwagon right now. I’ll save you a seat.

Best tracks: “Bitter,” “Calling Me,” “Closed Case”

4 stars out of 5