Single Review: LA Talk

LA Talk is the latest hit from Kiwi creative ASHY, a starlet who’s seen the stages of Electric Avenue, Going Global and even Texas’s South by Southwest. It’s a single that proves she knows pop music inside and out. 

LA Talk is undeniably polished to perfection. Slick basslines riding the modern disco-funk revival create a strong danceability, alongside clapping percussion and easy choruses which drive the track into sing-along territory. Although Ashy’s vocal melodies are plain, their extensive layering, subtle harmonies and perfect mixing give them a sense of oomph over the highly produced instrumental. Some elements feel less inventive than they could be, such as the pop trope of phone call effects opening the number, but this of course gives it extensive commercial potential. The song’s strongest feature is its expansive range of dynamics, building up and dropping at just the right moments.

Lyrically, LA Talk tackles a relationship in its early stages where both people play hard to get. Each line clicks into place naturally as ASHY notes the excuses her love interest repeatedly makes. It’s relatable and direct, also taking on a level of (perhaps unintentional) irony as whilst ASHY bemoans how her love interest puts up such a wall, she seems to do the same in response.

ASHY speaks to the possibilities of pop music in Aotearoa. Despite other genres seeming to receive the most local interest, tracks like LA Talk are a testament to the quality our own artists can achieve, with widespread appeal sure to please.