Album Review: Lola Kirke - Heart Head West

This may be Lola Kirke's first album, but it's not her first foray into the limelight. Starting her career acting in indie films like Mistress America and more recently Gemini, she's turned her hand to music with her soulful debut, Heart Head West.

The album kicks off with Monster, a chilled-out, guitar-heavy introduction to her '60s crooning that falls into the camp of Elvis or, more recently, Lana del Rey. "​I'm not a monster, just someone who wants to belong", she sings, setting the personal tone for the rest of the album.

Supposed To and Turn Away Your Heart take more of a country turn, swapping gentle strumming for fiddles and riffs. While the lyrics might be more passionate than the performance, Kirke's dedication to a soft, soulful '60s sound is true to its roots and consistent throughout the record.

The title track is spoken word, pitch-shifted to give it a strange and dreamlike quality. It leads directly into Out Yonder, one of the highlights of the album, with harmonising backing vocals and smooth jazz flute. Not something you hear a lot in 2018, but Kirke doesn't seem to care about sticking to modern trends.