Lava La Rue - STARFACE

Lava La Rue’s ‘STARFACE’ is the conceptual realisation of almost a decade of Lava’s visionary pop genius. They could have released an album at any point in their genre-fluid and experimental career, but it had to be at exactly the right moment, and it had to tell exactly the right story. The fantastical tale of an alien landing on Earth and discovering all the joy and pain and despair and hope of life on this planet in 2024 is that story.

The character Starface is woven throughout the record as Lava sonically explores every facet of their sonic palate. There are Prince-like funk pop jams in ‘Push N Shuv’ as well as the airy psychedelic bliss of ‘Humanity’, but there’s also a deeply human and relatable classic pop sound to complement the sci-fi tones in Beatles-y melodic guitar tunes like ‘Shell Of You’.

It’s a record that sonically takes you on a journey similar to the rush of new experiences that the alien character encounters. The construct allows for different lyrical themes of exploration, identity and social humanity, and Lava deftly weaves these around pop songs that can be enjoyed as pristine bangers on their own or as the supremely impressive whole of the concept album.

Rich in sound and vast in scope, its 17 tracks are a statement of intent from an artist who has no boundaries and is reaching for the stars.