Lenka

Caught in the middle

“The sun is hot in the sky / Just like a giant spotlight,” sings Lenka as she takes her turn in the literal spotlight as a solo artist. Straddling a fine line between Fiest and Edie Brickell – and to a lesser, but comparable, extent, Katy Perry – Lenka is no stranger to music. She previously fronted the electronic/ambient outfit Decoder Ring in her native Australia, a group best know for the critically-acclaimed soundtrack to the Australian film Somersault.

The daughter of a jazz musician, Lenka originally sidetracked music for film completely, embarking on an acting career (having trained alongside Cate Blanchett at the Australian Theatre for Young People), featuring in a string of independent films such as The Dish and Lost Things.

However, her subsequent time with Decoder Ring sparked an interest in solo material, with an early composition ending up in a particularly ‘hands-on’ scene in Courtney Cox’s TV series Dirt. TV placements have come thick and fast since her signing to Epic Records. (“They’re a major label, but have the philosophy of an indie,” says Lenka.) The track ‘The Show’ has featured in Old Navy’s back-to-school TV ad campaign and in hit US comedy series Ugly Betty. All of which – plus 476,700 downloads as iTunes’ free song of the week – helped push her full album into the iTunes’ Top 10 albums chart. The TV integration, however, doesn’t end there, with ‘Don’t Let Me Fall’ appearing in the newly-invigorated Beverly Hills 90210 premiere episode.

The songs themselves are evidence of a girl who cites that “her first friends were trees”. Described in reviews as an “ethereal songstress”, a “pocket rocket”, and “breathy, strangely haunting,” this is crossover folk-tinged pop at its best.

Single ‘The Show’ climaxes with a seemingly drunken rabble shouting, “I want my money back!”

I don’t think you will, though.

Lenka plays a series of dates in Australia at the end of October, before embarking on the Hotel Cafe Tour in the US from 11th November

http://www.myspace.com/lenkamusic

http://www.lenkamusic.com