A defining characteristic of an artist who captivates listeners is the ability to illuminate the sacredness in the mundane; elevating stories beyond measured comprehension. Kelsey Lu’s first full-length, Blood, begins with the acute track, “Rebel,” where layered, oscillating cello melodies provide the backdrop to a simple, yet perceptive narrative of her parent’s introspective college days, all the while stating that she currently shares the same struggle, “Times have really changed, yet they always stay the same.” Kelsey then breaks out of her strife on the tracks “Pushin’ Against the Wind” and the soaring “Due West,” where she decides to break free from her now controlling parents and head to California. This archetypal narrative strung across multiple songs is given a heightened sense of self-discovery by Lu’s haunting and soaring melodies. 

Kelsey’s voice has a quality to distill a surge of emotional energy that slowly dissipates into ephemeral bliss. On “Why Knock for You” her voice weaves in and out of a simple, repetitive digital pulse with a vibrato and sustain reminiscent of Kate Bush. Leading up to her debut, Lu had built her reputation on harmonizing with live loops of her main instrument, the cello, enchanting listeners with eerie, avant chamber folk. While the cello still anchors the songwriting on Blood, Kelsey expands her sound with elements of R&B, pop, down-tempo, and even disco. The album as whole, however, stays intelligently grounded with Kelsey’s mature-beyond-her-years songwriting and effective track sequencing.  

Lu presents a strong and beguiling debut album, one that announces a new and powerful songwriter to the field. The title track ends the album with a hopeful and promising statement of what is to come: “Don’t got game, but got the ball…Jazz ain’t dead, it’s in us all.”

*Originally published in Content Magazine

(Columbia Records)

Release Date: April 19th, 2019