Layla Zoe Music [Release date: 13.09.24]

To say Layla Zoe warms to the notion of being an independent artist, is to understate her willingness to both dig deep for her emotions in a concert situation, and fly in the face of received business acumen.

This after all is her second live album in a row, while her choice of covers in the second set is anything but startling.

And yet all that said, there remains the triumvirate at the core of her pro-career, namely her emotional voice, her heartfelt songs and an intuitive road tested band, who wring every last possibility from several long songs.

In many respects this album is a triumph of honesty and integrity, as it’s seemingly bereft of studio trickery and finds her in moments of wild abandon to quiet introspection in front of a “listening” audience.

Indeed, when Krissy Matthews peels off arguably his most exciting licks of the night on both ‘Automatic Gun’ and ‘Might Need To Fly’, the former needs Zoe to give him a name check, while the latter song finds the crowd holding its applause until the very last note has died down.

Maybe it’s the way Layla continually racks up emotional tension by immersing herself in every nuance of a song, from the opening accapella spiritual ‘Oh Lord I Want You To Help Me’, to the uncompromising ‘Turn This Into Gold’, which gives the evening a palpable edge.

And while ‘Automatic Gun’ is a riff drive rocker full of her effortless vocal ability and the band’s sterling chops, it isn’t long before she explores every aspect of ‘Are You Still Alive Inside’, by slipping into falsetto on a titular hook which she repeats across her full range to bursting point.

And therein lies my only reservation of the album as whole. Zoe and her band give their all, but what’s sometimes missing is the essential connection between the band and crowd.

Much like many live albums that I have recently received, they sound like desk recordings, and are sonically only one step are moved from a ‘live in the studio’ situation.

And yet remarkably, it doesn’t hamper her approach at all.

She attacks ‘Jasmine’ with an unfettered energy alongside Matthews’ wailing guitar, which leads into a salient hook, while she impressively slips through the gears on the autobiographical ‘Might Need To Fly’.

The album dutifully follows the 2 set approach, opening the cover section with the muscular ‘War Pigs’, which features enduring lyrics, if not a dated musical style, while the quietly contrastingly cover of Lowell George’s ‘Willin’ finds Zoe at her best, as she transforms an overly familiar song into something all of her own.

The inevitable Janis Joplin cover of ‘Move Over’ is well received at the outset, suggesting an audience of a certain age.

The rhythm section of Josh Rigal (bass) and drummer Felix Dehmel (check out the closing drum roll) really come into their own, as Zoe’s vocal and Matthews’ guitar enjoy spirited double lines.

Given the intensity of what’s gone before, the 2 song acoustic finish – comprising Dylan’s ‘Forever Young’ and the Elizabeth Cotten penned folk song ‘Freight Train’ – works well, though in truth neither adds little to the originals.

No matter, this live album is another snapshot of Zoe’s uncompromising and enduring vocal talent in front of a captivated (if not quiet German audience) who share the magical moments that only live music can bring. ****

Review by Pete Feenstra

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