It is a special occurrence to come across a record that emulates a sense of closeness, where the lyrics sung emulate a conversation with a close friend or one’s own internal dialogue. This sensation not only creates a sense of familiarity (and a strong one at that), but a sense of realism as well. Lauren Early has given us this record. Her debut EP, Patience, is refreshingly human – it touches upon self-doubt, happiness, and the frustrations of dealing with someone who behaves unfavorably. The simultaneous presence of introspection and candidness catalyzes the ability for the listener to connect to Patience, making the record just as much of a treat for the mind as it is for the ear.
Early shares that her debut EP’s title reflects the process it took to bring it to fruition.
“… Patience was obvious because it took a lot of patience to do this. There have been so many stop-and-gos along the way of making this and putting it out,” she said. “I feel like people love stories about persistent people (especially women) who really believe in themselves and take what they’re doing seriously and keep chugging along to make their dream real — but a lot of the time, in practice, the same people who are into that narrative meet women like that and they’re basically like ‘who the fuck does this cunt think she is?’ That happens to me a lot and was relevant to my experience trying to get people take this release as seriously as I’ve been taking it (my heroes are Courtney Love and Cardi B and I’m a Sagittarius for context). Patience also came into play because I experienced some pretty crazy medical things in the course of the past year while making this and trying to find a way to release it. And also, Patience rings true because I feel like I’ve been working up to taking music this seriously forever.”
It appears that “patience” has rung true to others, too, but Early takes it all in stride.
“I was driving down Sunset Blvd last month and saw a huge billboard for “Patience” by Tame Impala. LOL. And then literally yesterday I saw and ad for Mannequin Pussy’s new album… called Patience. At this point it just feels like the inner workings of the indie-music world is pulling a prank on me or something and honestly I think it’s funny.”
A record does not need to overflow with sonic fanfare in order to exhibit richness and make an impact, and Patience exhibits this. Its musical strength is rooted in its level of nuance, whether it be the resonant rhythm section in “Heaven” that delightfully foils the track’s more ethereal moments, the melodic guitar riffs that pepper “Out Of Style,” or the smoothness of the vocal performance in “Lemon,” each and every musical detail in Patience truly pops. Lauren Early has given us a listening experience where the ear is not distracted and overwhelmed, but is able to easily detect detail and other subtleties. This makes the listening experience immersive and fresh, as new musical elements yield the potential to be uncovered with each listen.
In many ways, Patience sounds like a Saturday night and a Sunday morning all at once. This is largely because a sense of reflective stillness and sheer vibrance exist simultaneously. It is uncommon to find this pairing existing with equal weight within the same record, yet that is precisely what makes Patience stand out. It contains an equalized ability to both electrify and create stillness within the listener; the record can anchor as much as it can create buoyancy. That’s really special, and that’s why Patience is such an impactful debut.
You can keep up with Lauren Early on Facebook and Instagram.