On Lava La Rue's tumultuous new wave jam 'Push N Shuv', the future collides with the past. Recorded when the artist was 21 years old, La Rue's vocals are a time capsule marking the exact moment they sowed the seeds of what would become their debut album. The vocals are intertwined with a piercing flute melody, which adds a dose of sci-fi surrealism to the otherwise retro funk groove. On STARS, the record that comes five years after those vocals were recorded, La Rue continues to catalyze the old and the new. The result is a sparkling mix of psychedelic funk, ska punk, grunge, soul and indie rock.
La Rue—whose stage name is an anagram of their birth name, Ava Laurel (also spelled Aiwa Laurel)—was born in west London in 1998. Raised primarily by their Jamaican grandmother, they entered foster care in their teenage years. Surrounded by the punk heritage of the West London estates they lived in, they started their own band called West Borns, which they have described as an aspiring “all-girl version of the Clash”. Later, at school, they met fellow musicians Lloyd Macdonald and Jess Smyth—now known by the stage names Mac Wetha and Biig Piig—with whom they formed the NiNE8 Collective. NiNE8 represents a radical proposition in a world of nepo babies: independent, working-class Gen Z artists who insist on sharing all profits equally with each other, prioritizing community and collaboration over solo success. Alongside their work with the collective, La Rue has collaborated with artists such as Clairo, Deb Never and Vegyn on their own music – releasing a slew of EPs blurring their indie, punk and rap influences since 2017 – as well as directing visuals for other artists including Wet Leg.
Lava heralded a hallucinatory new era with the 2022 EP Hi-Fidelity, a sweet collection of delightfully trippy funk. On STAR, lean further into that psychedelic sensibility, this time with bolder, braver melodies and a flair for the dramatic. The record hinges around one idea – an alien lands on Earth and learns about the destructive nature of human relationships (or as La Rue puts it, a “lesbian Ziggy Stardust”)—but following the narrative isn't really necessary to enjoy the record's sumptuous, omnivorous sound world. Written and recorded between London and Los Angeles, the record has its feet on the rainy cement of La Rue's childhood homes and its head in the sunny skies of California: Dots of drum'n'bass and ska bump shoulders with soul, funk and R&B.
In keeping with La Rue's collaborative spirit, STAR it is full of features. Peers NiNE8 take turns delivering uneven but lively bass lines on “Fluorescent Beyond Space.” Biig Piig's featherlight delivery over a rush of Tame Impala-esque synths makes a particularly dreamy impression. La Rue also looks outside the collective for creative input, crafting a queer fantasy with K-indie star So Yoon on “INTERPLANETARY HOPPIN” and romantically reinventing the sounds of pirate radio with Malaysian-Irish artist Yunè Pinku on “Second Hand Sadness “. Meanwhile, on the muscular “Poison Cookie,” La Rue enlists New Jersey rapper Audrey Nuna for a rock anthem with real superhero montage energy.
