"Breathe In & Let Go" — Laoise Leahy’s Sonic Poem to the Present
Some music attacks you; some music invites you in. "Breathe In & Let Go", Laoise Leahy's Irish singer and composer EP, is the latter — an outstretched hand in a crowded room that will take you somewhere more peaceful. Born in the "in-between" — between genres, between breaths, between the pull of life's obligations — here are four tracks inviting the listener to a space where alternative jazz, heavy electronica, soulful folk, and the soft hum of neo soul meet under one horizon. Laoise's voice, intimate and expansive in equal measure, is the beacon through moods of drifting seas of groove and repose.
The EP opens with "Breathe In", reflective beach of sound where sea and sand textures and subdued rhythms envelop the listener like sea breeze. It's not so much music that is played — it breathes. Then there's "Let Go (La Da Da)", the EP pulse and cheeky beat, all hook and glint, a groove-inclined desire to release the weight of the day and move instinctively. This equilibrium — between the surrender and the sway — is the breath of life for "Breathe In & Let Go", transporting us into places that are both profoundly intimate and exuberantly communal.
"Starlight" confronts the universe — glowering acid jazz with otherworldly vitality churning in obscurity and radiance. The song is akin to standing under a black sky, each note a star, each line an unposed question. Finally, "A Timeless Place" wraps up the cycle, ballad jazz that fixes you so still you forget about the clock completely. Time releases; the world outside blurs. Here, music isn't merely something you hear, but something you participate in — a place that you can choose to stay in for a while.
This record, composed with collaborator Christian Best and a company of virtuosic musicians, is greater than an EP; it is an unfolding and an becoming. It is an homage to the revolution that goes unseen when we pause, heed, and allow ourselves to be moved. In a world so frequently rushed and indiscriminate, "Breathe In & Let Go" is a surprise gift: the promise that art can be both reflection and refuge, that the air we breathe in is as beautiful as the moment we release it. Midnight, August 15th — the door swings open. The rest is yours.
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