EP Review: Loyal Lobos - 'The Fall'

LA-based singer and songwriter Loyal Lobos (Andrea Silva) gets ready to release her debut EP ,‘The Fall’, on November 14th and shares, ‘Wrong’, another evocative cut from the new record.

It’s been one whole year since Loyal Lobos hit our radar here at WTHB off the back of her raw alt-folk single, ‘Dirt’, so it feels really fitting that one year later we’re here telling you that Loyal Lobos’ debut EP, ‘The Fall’ is dropping very soon. The EP is made up of 5 tracks, and the good news is you can already stream four of these five songs!

Opening with the title track and Loyal Lobos’ debut single, ‘The Fall’ is the EP’s token “fast” song, seeing Loyal Lobos weave her captivating storytelling through a relentless driving rhythm, which gets more and more exciting as the track develops. This is arguably the fullest we have heard her sound to date.

One of my favourite things about Loyal Lobos is how she lays down familiar folk foundations in her music, but from there on strays from the blueprint entirely. ’The Fall’ is an EP that is accessible in its entirety but sees Loyal Lobos abandon the “proper” formulas of folk music. Instead, she builds on her folk roots with forward-thinking alternative textures; thoughtfully engineering hazy, moody, dreamy, sad atmospheres that never once allow the listener to drift away from the emotion sealing each song.

Loyal Lobos’ new single, ‘Wrong’ is the perfect example of a hazy soundscape that stays anchored and keeps her listener fully engaged. It’s actually my favourite song on the EP. I just love everything about it. I’m sure Loyal Lobos has cast some kind of magical spell on her music wherein every time her vocal starts, a little invisible string tugs at her listeners hearts.

Loyal Lobos’ intimate, poetic lyricism, stirring vocal and experimental touches on the folk genre sees her crafting songs which captivate, evoke and affect in a fairly minimalist way. Yet impressively, still have maximum impact. The EP also shows off that there’s room for more sweeping, dramatic touches like we see on ‘Swim’ and its breathtaking climax, or on the powerful EP closer, ‘Burn’ which is a dreamy journey through transfixing textures and dynamics. ‘The Fall’ is an achingly beautiful and honest EP, unforgettable in its entirety.

Words of Karla Harris