★★★★★
Since Jessy Lanza released her debut Pull My Hair Back in September of 2013, the electro-R&B landscape has become significantly more crowded. Her debut effort with Junior Boys' Jeremy Greenspan was a well-produced, confident effort that nonetheless was at times a bit too restrained, if only because Lanza's vocal power was otherwise so apparent in the few instances in which it was allowed to shine through. Those hints seemed to suggest there would be more of her in future efforts...
- pitchfork.com
2015-07-30
★★★★★
One need not look further than industry-leading electronic music coverage site Resident Advisor to see the gushing praise critics everywhere have lavished on Jessy Lanza's debut LP . Praising Lanza's "skeletal approaches to pop music" and "knack for velveteen R&B; melodies," RA rated the album a 4.5/5, calling it "one of the year's best debuts." This reviewer would like to claim that Resident Advisor is failing to make an important distinction between good music and experimentation...
- www.sputnikmusic.com
2013-12-06
★★★★★
Joe Martinez
From left, Kevin Cribbin, Kyle Reynolds, and Zack Weil of Oozing Wound, whose debut album is called "Retrash."
August AlsinaDOWNTOWN: LIFE UNDER THE GUN
"Somebody gotta survive," August Alsina says in one of the spoken interludes on his debut major label EP, "Downtown: Life Under the Gun" (Radio Killa/Def Jam)...
- www.nytimes.com
2013-10-22
★★★★★
Nubile to the DNA of sharply shoulder-padded R&B/electro, thawed and glass blown into a slow, spacious dance of 30th century easy living, Canadian artist Jessy Lanza docks in wispy whites and cream-coloured opulence. She's perhaps bringing the sweetest voice so far to Hyperdub. She's a fibre-optic Lolita to whom you'll be yanking at your Ethernet cable, either to transcend pleasure or to save yourself, as Lanza's drawing of breath reaches the point where even her sometime unintelligibility...
- www.clashmusic.com
2013-09-27
★★★★★
Hyperdub has developed a real knack lately for pushing its own boundaries. The latest step away from the label's dubstep roots is the debut album from Hamilton, Ontario native Jessy Lanza, whose Pull My Hair Back is co-written and co-produced by Junior Boys member Jeremy Greenspan. The album finds the pair working within a pop-R&B template, and boasts lush, analog production that underpins Lanza's graceful, floaty vocals...
- www.xlr8r.com
2013-09-16
★★★★★
If an artists' music video were indicative of one's listening experience, "Kathy Lee" would certainly be representative of Hamilton, ON electro R&B; artist Jessy Lanza's . The clip showcases Steeltown hero Jed the Dancing Guy clumsily two-stepping across the streets of Hamilton for no rhyme or reason. Listening to the album's mix of '90s R&B; and house evokes a similar feeling of confusion, as well as enjoyment...
- exclaim.ca
2013-09-17
★★★★★
The story behind Jessy Lanza's debut album, Pull Your Hair Back, verges on a musical kismet. The album was co-produced by Jeremy Greenspan of Junior Boys, and anyone familiar with that duo will immediately see why he was the ideal candidate for Lanza's immersive, often oblique brand of electronic pop. The two have known each other for years, and first worked together when Greenspan enlisted Lanza for backing vocals on 2011's It's All True...
- www.residentadvisor.net
2013-09-13
★★★★★
Available on: Hyperdub LP Coloured perfectly for Hyperdub's catalogue of recent years, Jessy Lanza's debut album Pull My Hair Back is being discussed as a modern r 'n' b record, and there is indeed half a modern r'n'b album here in all kinds of stylistic execution. However, the other half of the album is pure song writing of the '82-'86 boogie era...
- www.factmag.com
2013-09-13
★★★★★
Situated on the southwestern corner of Lake Ontario, the midsize industrial city of Hamilton, Ontario, has a grittiness that stands in stark contrast to the diverse cosmopolitanism of its northern neighbor, Toronto. While Hamilton may lack the cultural cachet of Canada's largest city, Steeltown served as a creative incubator for singer Jessy Lanza: she fell into a collaborative role with a local acquaintance, Junior Boys member Jeremy Greenspan, that led to studio sessions and a deal with the...
- pitchfork.com
2013-09-12