Lhasa (Digi)

"When my lifetime had just ended
And my death had just begun
I told you I'd never leave you
But I knew this day would come"

Lhasa "I'm Going In"

I write this with sadness since I have only learned today that she died around the new year at the young age of 37. I am rarely moved by modern music to me music today is a simply too predictable and stale until I heard "La Llorona" "The Living Road" and tragically her final album simply titled "Lhasa". Lhasa's use of inter winding languages such as in La Llorona and The living Road shocked me since I have never heard such a perfect blending with all the variety of songs and especially the hauntingly beautiful lyrics in each and every album. How tragic is it to lose such a great talent? It's like a artist being told not to imagine nor dream it's emptiness absolute emptiness. This is her final album and in many ways her best, here she bares her soul with a combination of optimism and sadness but above all acceptance. Lhasa knew her fate and it's presented here in such a lovely and honest album that I advise anyone who has lost faith in music to listen to this personal icon of mine and if you give her a chance she will engulf your soul and make you smile.

Rest In Peace Lhasa de Sela
Your journey has not ended, it has only been delayed, your grace will always be with us along with your beautiful smile and poetic soul and your music that will grow old with us until we all rejoice and meet together in eternity.

Lhasa's third major release is her most refined and complete. The perfect simplicity of the musical production is paired with lyrics that resonate a sense of profound, and yet quiet, knowing. Everything is in its place. There are no extraneous notes or words. This is song (and album) writing at its most powerful. I say album writing because this is one of those albums that you will be listening to all the way through. There is a thread that connects all the songs and yet Lhasa never repeats herself musically or lyrically. The variation in the instrumentation is partly what makes this a wholly satisfying journey through the landscapes of Lhasa's musical world. While I would usually shy away from the tired old 'journey' metaphor it seems appropriate in this case. This is because the sense of space created by the simplicity of the music really does evoke a vast, sweeping landscape that Lhasa gently guides us through. In this sense the album has a cinematic feel that I'm sure will be picked up on by directors and we will no-doubt see tracks from this album popping up on film. In short the best album I've heard this year and one of my favorites of all time, and this after only one listen. Buy it.

5 Stars all the way, not much more I can say, great stuff. On par with La Llorona, and The Living Road. The whole album is good, but the standouts for me are Rising (check out the video for this one too), The Lonely Spider, and Bells.