Lenka

There are several reasons why most people have apparently not heard Lenka’s new self-titled debut album. Part of it may be because the general public can’t seem to multitask and therefore are stuck on Colbie Caillet and Sara Bareillis – not to say the three young artists have similar sounds so much as they have that similar, pop-y feeling. There’s always the chance that Regina Spektor and Feist fans feel like Lenka’s attempting to intrude upon their well-earned territory. Maybe it’s that Lenka’s voice closely resembles that of Greta Salpeter from The Hush Sound, who many fans say the band could have done without. Quite possibly it’s all the pessimistic ‘glass-half-empty’ negativity under all the light, flowery piano. For me, a self-proclaimed lyrical connoisseur, it’s the LiveJournal confessions that turn me off the most.

Lenka Kripac, born in 1978, can more or less be considered a ripened adult. I’m not trying to insinuate, by any means, that 30 is an old age; certainly by looking at Lenka you’d never think she was a day older than 20. However, Lenka doesn’t make it subtle how reluctant she is to show this fact about herself. For one example, there’s “We Will Not Grow Up”. On her official website and MySpace she boasts in third person, “Others may struggle to get in touch with their inner child; Lenka never lost hers,” while posting pictures of herself autographic two young fans’ poster and captioning it, “3 little girls…” We can tell Lenka’s inner child is reluctant to grow out of the whining preteen stage in most of her songs, such as ‘Trouble Is A Friend’ where she preaches, “Trouble will find you no matter where you go, oh oh/ No matter if you're fast no matter if you're slow, oh oh.” We’d expect someone with 30 years of life experience to have something more profound to discuss, as opposed to, “… all I ever want to be is anything I'm not/ Gimme a break, a little escape/ I am so tired of being me,” (‘Anything I’m Not’), or at the very least not contradict themselves in the same song (“…I will always be, I will always be me, that I know/ But oh, even though I'm happy being me”).

‘The Show’, the only song from the album you may heard on the radio, is entirely the diary entry of an awakening Absurdist, but it’s pop, un-folk sound makes it a success. ‘Knock Knock’ is a touching love song, and a well-needed break from all the ‘life’s too hard’ lamenting on the CD masked by Lenka’s wispy voice and flimsy melodies. Overall, it’s a good use of onomatopoeia. ‘Like A Song’ does indeed use a hook but in a very T.a.T.u.-esque, haunting way that allows this song to stand out against the rest of the album. It’s up to the listener if it stands out in a good way or not; I suppose it depends on whether you consider, “Ahoooh/ Dum da di da/ Da da da dum,” a compelling set of lyrics. Maybe if you’re into werewolves? Or, if sheep are more your style, there’s always ‘Dangerous And Sweet’: “I’m sorry I hurt you/ I know that like me you can be oversensitive/ Ba Ba Ba Ba Ba Ba Ba…” Love her or hate her, whatever your reason, check it at: www.myspace.com/lenkamusic