
Leila is, on paper at least, an exciting musical proposition. Born in Iran, playing keyboards with Bjork and now here she releases her second album of subversive dance/trip-hop music. Every track here could be termed as unconventional. At times this can be a mistake, the one minute of white noise at the end of 'From Before... What?' showcases the same ear for a tune as Throbbing Gristle and the muttered vocals (both male and female) do tend to sound a little monotonous at times. The inventiveness certainly stands out on the instrumentation; shuffling drum rhythms collide with the sounds of a circus on 'Be Clowns' whereas 'Thanks, Mr. Jones' features immense maddening percussion that builds up into a delightful avant-jazz stew. Make no mistake, there are genuine tunes on display here, so soulful material like 'Work', 'To Win Her Love' and 'To Tell A Lie' provide welcome relief amongst the mayhem. Fame in the public eye may be asking too much but Leila's wilfully, uncompromising individualist style compares favourably wth a certain Icelandic singer-songwriter.