Shadows

Shadows

Australia's Lenka Kripac—whose single "The Show" cracked the U.K.'s Top 40 and went to No. 1 in Poland—has moved to the U.S., where her melodic pop has yet to take deep root in the public consciousness. That's a shame, since for her third album, Shadows, Lenka captures a beautiful vibe. On orchestrated tunes such as "Nothing," her somber memories balance the present and the past. Elements of her sound reach toward retro—at her best she sounds like one of Serge Gainsbourg's jilted lovers—but she's also clearly involved in present-day Los Angeles, where hipsters gorge themselves on vintage keyboards, horns, and strings. The album's muted quality may be partly attributable to Lenka being pregnant with her first child during the recording. Should the pretty harmonies of "Nothing Here but Love," the gentle keyboards and horns of "Honeybee," and the intimacy of "Two Heartbeats" strike you as also sounding like music for young people, this explains why. Lenka's taking us with her through the experience of a lifetime.

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