Local Memphis artist, 17-year-old Laura Lang’s latest EP features the title track Bad Luck mid-way through the 7 song EP. I love how this song starts out. Just a single electric guitar. Simple picking, not much effects, a little crunch. On first listen, I felt a real Mazzy Star vibe. This refreshing revitalization of rock was music to my ears.
Laura’s vocals come right in and let you know what the song is about. “This isn’t the first time, and it won’t be the last”. You can tell mistakes have been made and many more to come. As the song rolls through the first verse, the chorus really opens up more instruments and a more airy feel to the song. The drums pick up a more intense style giving a that more aggressive feel. As we get back to the verses, the song breaks down to a simpler style. That catchy guitar riff, a drum beat that really emphasizes 2 and 4. The chorus brings that big instrument feel again as the drums drive the more aggressive feeling.
I really like the breaks in the chorus back to the verses each time it happens. The band falls out for a measure, as the guitar holds on one note, then the song gets back to it with that catchy guitar riff. I love the production from Calvin Lauber in this. This song really has a pro feeling to it. I love this song and can’t wait to dive more into this EP.
About the artist
A passionate and tumultuous 7-song EP, expands on the 17-year-old songwriter’s uncommon poise, candor, and musical precision. With self-awareness and conviction, Lang’s uses her natural gift for introspective and lyrical songwriting on Bad Luck as she processes the elated beginnings of a new relationship in, “Black Sedan,” the stark and unkind realities of love in title track “Bad Luck,” and, in final track “Goodbye/Biggest Fan,” a bittersweet ending. Recorded in both Memphis and Nashville, Bad Luck also captures Lang’s grappling with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), a mental illness that both impacts Lang’s ability to regulate her emotions and keep healthy relationships. With that in mind, Bad Luck, produced by Calvin Lauber (Julien Baker) and production duo Collin Pastore and Jake Finch (Lucy Dacus), balances Lang’s tender vocals and smooth melodies with boiling guitar fills, pointed lyrics, and swelling production—a glimpse into the feelings of confusion, detachment, and isolation Lang often contends with. Still, in defiance of the EP’s title, chosen in reference to the way her disorder and failed relationships can make her feel, Lang’s imaginative songcraft on Bad Luck, spins sun-gold from the darkness. In addition to releasing her two EPs, Lang, who is currently a senior in high school, performs locally, and is in the process of putting together a band to tour with as soon as next year. By Alexa Peters
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