Le Fomo turn the beat up on high energy sophomore album, "Swallow Me Whole"
Review by Austin Sher
Oakland, California-based electro thrash pop duo, Le Fomo, have just released an incredibly well produced album, Swallow Me Whole. There’s lots to unpack here, so please read along with us for our full review of the record.
Gender expansive, genre expansive, multi-instrumentalists Ess Nelson (vocals, lyrics, synths, bass, beats, arrangement) and Kai Hofius (guitar, drums, lyrics, bass), comprise this wonderful electronic duo, Le Fomo. Let us just get this out of the way before we begin, we are absolutely enthralled with the sounds of this record, just wow!
They just released three blazing singles along with two music videos before dropping their full album, Swallow Me Whole, in late September on Club Queen Records (US/North America) and AnalogueTrash across Europe, and they've been packing their IG feed full of music video shorts along the way. Who better to explain the album in full Ess herself, “On a sweaty quest through a sunny afternoon electro dance party to a synthwave post-punk saturated basement to belting in your car to release your pent up anger about your last breakup, Le Fomo’s sophomore album Swallow Me Whole blazes through 2020 with a maelstrom of fiery vocals, swooning lyrics, driving bass lines, catchy guitar riffs, shimmering synths, and beats that will animate your sweet, sweet cheeks and may just open up that tiny door to your pulsating heart. Swallow Me Whole calls on us to become our fullest, most expansive selves and to find authentic human connection in that space of expansion.”
Citing musical influences as Prince, Talking Heads, Elastica, Electrelane, Queen Latifah, Metallica, Queen, Devo, Herbie Hancock, Hank Levy, Led Zeppelin, Cyndi Lauper, Righeira, Le Tigre, Erase Errata, Karen O, Peaches, The Gossip, Gang of Four, Joy Division, La Femme, Leikeli47, and Janelle Monae, there’s certainly elements taken from each of these artists on Swallow Me Whole.
At this point, where do we even start? From the get go on album opener, “NOTDF”, the energy is cranked to 10 and a full dance party has broken out in our living room. If that isn’t a sign of an exciting start to a record, then we certainly haven’t been listening to the right music. Seriously though, from start to finish there’s multiple genres that make appearances, but at its base it’s electro thrash as the band describes.
Coming in at a succinct 30 minute runtime, spanning 9 total tracks, there’s truly something for everyone here. If you’re looking to dance, they’ve got you covered. If you’re into diverse instrumentation with original basslines and earwormy guitar riffs, you’re covered again. All the musical influences cited above would be proud to know that Le Fomo listens to them and modeled their sound in some capacity after their work. Specifically we heard glimmers of Prince, the guitar work of Led Zeppelin, and the poppiness of Janelle Monae. A perfect combination for a modern day classic.
At this point, we’re hoping you’ve blocked off the next 30 minutes of your life to listen in full. Side effects may include sweating from dancing too hard, but that’s just to be expected at this point. For all things Le Fomo, to listen to Swallow Me Whole, and to keep up with all future releases, please check out the following links below.
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