- Laila's debut is Deewee's most pop-friendly record yet, preceded by bits of synthy krautrock, new beat-tinted electro and house music from Brazil. The label's other stab at electronic pop, Emmanuelle's snotty Free Hifi Internet, was its most endearing release, but The Other Me / Pink Tones, swaddled in reverb and techno chords, strikes a mature tone with its glossy sheen and romantic anxieties.
Both songs stem from the same idea but are approached from slightly different angles. Laila is more surefooted on "The Other Me," her milky vocal present but faded at the edges, sometimes ghost-like. A cushioned 4/4 gives the track a billowing outline, as its innards throb softly. Delicate vocal harmonies and teardrop idiophones drift over each other on "Pink Tones," but its unyielding pulse does these gentle fragments few favours. Both songs address a lover, Laila's words smeared in doubt and longing, and the music feels clouded in the same way. It gives Laila an air of mystery on "The Other Me," but she's almost invisible on "Pink Tones," concealed by soggy reverb that lingers like too much perfume.
TracklistA1 The Other Me
A2 Pink Tones
B1 The Other Me (Deeweedub)