Leyya – Sauna
Las Vegas Records

1. Sauna
2. Drumsolo
3. Zoo
4. Candy
5. Solitude (I’ve Never Been Fun)
6. Oh Wow
7. In Your Head
8. The Fall
9. Heat
10. Never Never
11. We Did OK
12. Zoo (Reprise)

I often refer to the 90s as the best period in music, in this era we had an influx of great music not just from the UK but from all reaches of the globe and within that influx came many movements, styles and genre defining music, but what also happen was a lot of genre splintering. Artists were taking two, three or sometimes more genres and blending them together, some took one genre and turned it on its head to make their own version of that style. This happened a lot with pop music which found itself in the position of offering many sub genres whilst basically staying the same.

Artists that made Pop music started branching the sound out and started incorporating elements of dance and break beat to form one of the most interest pop sounds anyone had heard at that time, the best examples of this come in the form of Saint Etienne and Tin Tin Out. These where pop records with the spirit of dance music, today this sub genre of pop would be referred to as Indie Pop or Alternative Pop.

But why am I giving you this somewhat of a history lesson when the header says its a review of Sauna by Austrian duo Leyya? Well I say all that because it leads perfectly into knowing what you get here with this record and not only does it have the essence of what Pop music was in the 90s it sounds like it belongs there also.

Sauna is a blissful delight of genre blending, mixing pop, dance and indie with sounds from all over the globe to make a record so whacky and weird that you can’t help but smile and dance around the room to it. I kept coming back to the term “beautifully mad” whilst I sat listening and couldn’t help thinking that this record belongs in the 90s, sitting there in the rack next to the likes of the aforementioned Saint Etienne and Tin Tin Out whilst also sounding fresh and modern. The sounds on the this record can go so far off the beaten track at times that you start to get into Avalanches territory and thats why I said its whacky, weird and beautifully mad.

Sauna is a brilliant pop record whilst not being a pop record at all and that right there is what makes its so damn good and why it is worth both your time and money, Sauna is one of the most unique, interesting and delightful records you will hear this year and why Leyya are making waves across the globe.

RATING: 8/10