Tei Shi, La Linda, Album Review
Tei Shi
La Linda
Album Review
I was immensely looking forward to more from Tei Shi after the release of her gorgeous collaboration with Blood Orange, "Even If It Hurts" at the end of September. However,Spotify can be a bit funny sometimes, and the Columbian-Canadian singer/songwriter's second full-length album, managed to release right under my nose.
What I loved so much about the previously mentioned teaser track, was how dreamy and celestial the electric sound was. I assumed that this input was by the hands of Blood Orange when being featured in this song. However, this kind of style that I loved so much remains throughout the majority of the whole project.
This style pairs beautifully with Tei Shi's angelic vocals. And quite honestly, if I were to judge the album on vocals alone, this would be an absolute 10/10. Both the range and silkiness of these vocals truly do allow this album to stand out amongst all of the other 2019 albums with a similar composition to La Linda.
I also love how Tei Shi utilises both English and Spanish lyrics, as a result of her combined heritage of Canadian and Colombian. On the more Colombian side of things, I really enjoyed the track "Matando". Despite sounding like something that could easily fit into the Latino genre, which normally isn't my cup of tea, "Matando" still felt incredibly enjoyable to say the least, and a song that would've made a perfect summer bop.
Furthermore, I do somewhat wish that this album was released back in the summer, as its warm and colourful charm would've made it an even more memorable album than it is seemingly becoming in my mind.
While I would say that the vocal melodies are more consistently good than the production, which on occasion was a bit one-dimensional, the majority of instrumentals behind the songs are whimsical, dreamy, and perfectly compliment the serenity of Tei Shi's singing.
A good album to compare this to might be Ariana Grande's thank u, next (especially when listening to the tracks on this album like "Twilight" or "Red Light"). I would argue however, that the more atmospheric and more luminous nature on La Linda make it the better album of the two.
The room for improvement on this album, while still existent, is very quite narrow. There are definitely enough tracks on this thing to make it a high-ranking project. I would say that my favourite track on this album currently, is track number 2; "Alone in the Universe". It pretty much carries every good quality found in this album; A production which again sound similar to that found on a Blood Orange record, a glossy and almost 80's aesthetic, and a very colourful and vibrant melody (both in production and vocals).
When all is said and done, I am incredibly glad to have caught on to this album at the very last month of 2019, as it really is a stellar project all-round. I should also add that seen as I am writing this review the very same day as listening to the album, I think it would be safe to say it could grow on me just in time for the end of 2019.
Thank you for reading.
Booth Boy
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