Delicate Electronic Musing
Solo multi-instrumentalist/producer Leni Ward was dedicated enough to her music to spent 2007 recording her debut offering, 'Body' herself in a home studio she set up with money left by her grandfather. Her aim to create something different has certainly been achieved on this 10 track record which submerges the listener beneath a flood of electronic and instrumental passion. Despite its reliance of synths and technology, the album feels very organic and has a natural sense of development.
There are tunes that see Ward bathed in sunny pop, and her soft voice could see her posing as the new Dido, for example, 'Can't Be Won't Be' is simply upbeat, gentle pop, while opener, 'Mary' is an atmospheric, anthemic moment of creative electronic music that still has enough conventional wisdom to be a hit.
'Power Cut 84' is a sweet, reflective number that starts as barely a breathy whisper over a piano track and climaxes under crashing waves of overdriven guitar and abrasive vocal harmonies, while, 'The Wall' manages a similar, striking evolution with doom-laden pianos booming beneath Ward's angelic, soaring vocals. Dark tension melts through, 'Burn' and 'Not Up To It' with dense, aching strings and tribal percussion adding a raw folk feel that's instantly enthralling.
'Body' is a delicate album made up of fleeting moments of beauty that flutter through your ears; it's a sweet gem that is unlikely to make it through to the mainstream, but is worth a listen. Leni Ward has managed to balance musical trickery with the perfect amount of emotion to fascinate and engage the listener, which is especially important in music lacking the generic verse/chord structure, but Ward's writing is full of spirit and creativity.