Those of us who have followed Lasca Dry from her earliest days know her for a particular kind of joy. Think of the day-glo hyperactivity of ‘Pretty Face‘, the dazzling warmth of ‘Sunset Baby‘, the luscious hyper pop of ‘Messy Mind‘ and the explosive bubble-pop cheek of ‘Behave‘. It’s a sparkling, iridescent world. The lights have now been turned down to something more restained and langourous.
‘Mad Heartbeat’ is a hazy, hypnotic slow-burn and a striking new direction from the lutruwita/Tasmanian-born, now Boorloo/Perth-based artist. Dreamy psychedelia and brooding, heavy guitars with a ’70s flavour run through it. The song moves between tenderness and growing emotional urgency, and it is romantic and uneasy in equal measure. This is falling for someone while a quiet voice in the back of your head asks whether you’re about to walk into the same heartbreak again.
Lasca explains it with disarming candour:
‘Mad Heartbeat’ is about searching for love and desperately not wanting to end up in another bad situation. You meet someone, you start falling, and there’s this little voice underneath it all saying, ‘please don’t be bad like the others.’ You want so badly to believe that this time will be different.
Then something happens that breaks that trust. But it’s not as simple as just walking away. You wait, you hope, there are promises that things will change, and somehow you find yourself falling all over again. There’s this fear that maybe the love you’ve been dreaming of is something this person will never be able to give you – but your heart is still holding on, asking them to give you a sign.
The lyrics reveal this hazy romanticism:
You made me love you one more time
So if you love me, give a sign
You made me love you one more time
The touchpoints are easy to name: the cinematic haze of Lana Del Rey, the dreamy nostalgia of Weyes Blood (whom Lasca has supported) and the soft-to-heavy dynamics of Wolf Alice. The song still sounds entirely her own. The doll-like aesthetic and the signature pink shark-fin guitar have always come with real steel, and here the heaviness gets room to come to the front. This is the push and pull of trust and scar tissue, played out in the music itself.
The accompanying video filmed by Kelly Hammond carries on the dreamy, feminine and slightly surreal world of her forthcoming debut EP, ‘Time Keeps Drifting’.
‘Mad Heartbeat’ shows an artist willing to step out of the sunshine and find something just as compelling in the shadows. Take a look and a listen below.
‘Mad Heartbeat’ is out now and available to download and stream via all the usual sites and here.
Lasca has been building her reputation on the live circuit for some years. She has played Falls Festival, Party in the Paddock, Mona Foma, Good Gumnuts and Great Escape, and shared stages with Bloc Party, Weyes Blood, Paul Dempsey, Tim Rogers, Sly Withers, Pacific Avenue, Luca Brasi and Little Birdy. triple j Home & Hosed, Unearthed, Rolling Stone Australia and Rage have all taken note.
Feature Photograph: Kelly Hammond
