Oh No

On Oh No, Jessy Lanza reveals a range of new emotions, influences and styles, further establishing a distinctive sound that blurs the lines even more between pop and club music.

Lanza, the antithesis of the ululating, overwrought antics of the X Factor school, has an arsenal of talents that puts her in a league of her own. She’s very much for real.

For all the deft production touches, it's Lanza's lost-on-the-dancefloor persona, at once sensuous and mysterious, which supplies the magic touch. [Jul 2016, p.109]

A more exuberant sophomore effort that synthesises the techno-pop of Yellow Magic Orchestra and the electro-R&B of '80s hitmakers like Midnight Star. [Jul 2016, p.75]

Oh No aims for pop and hits it squarely.

Thematically the songs stick to the familiar pop terrain of love--the least adventurous thing about them--but Oh No nonetheless makes a convincing case for broadening the term "pop star" beyond the glamazons.

Seemingly existing on a higher plane, this feels like upended R&B beamed down from outer space, encapsulating everything from the smoothness of Sade to the edginess of Aaliyah.

Driven by crispy drum machines and shimmering synths, Lanza’s second full-length Hyperdub offering is instantly more direct and relatable than its predecessor; cloudy reverb is replaced by sheeny production.

At times, the production can be overly fussy (see Going Somewhere), but tracks such as VV Violence (squelchy electro-funk by way of girlish electroclash) and Never Enough (a nod to smooth house dude Morgan Geist) demonstrate their ability to team that experimentalism with peak-time danceability. There could be a bona fide pop star in Jessy Lanza yet.

Wrapped in a overwhelming number of influences, Oh No vaults across an infinity of cultural milieus to find itself.

What this sense of apparent introversion leads to, however, is anything but a soft or slow record. On the contrary; Oh No often grooves harder and faster than Pull My Hair Back, with Lanza’s voice still invoking early Madonna and Cyndi Lauper.

It’s a testament to the extraordinary breadth of Oh No, as Lanza metamorphosizes from an intriguing curiosity to a formidable contender in contemporary electronic music.

Oh No is a gorgeous and deadly pop music manifesto that proves yet again the sad girls are not vulnerable and silent subjects.

Oh No is an inventive and enjoyable pop record that only falls short of Lanza's own standards.

Lanza's second album is brief, bright and sophisticated, and while it doesn't push any boundaries or cross borders/genres as much or as often as a fan might hope, it does deliver on the sonic and melodic promise of her debut and offer that chance of a wider audience that has been promised since her first appearance.

Songs on Oh No never outright fail, but they don’t all inspire the same level of intrigue and enthusiasm. There are moments when Lanza sings entirely in falsetto over an ambient afterglow where you will get FKA Twigs deja vu.

It may be true that Oh No doesn’t quite match the mystery or depth of her debut--it’s all very transparent and above the surface in comparison--but it offers enough proof that the overt, more soulful qualities demonstrated on this album should serve her well for some time yet.