Review: Lauran Hibberd — Garageband Superstar

The Isle of Wight music scene has rarely been in ruder health than it is right now.

Global superstars Wet Leg blazed a trail for a flurry of female-fronted acts such as Coach Party, JoJo and the Teeth and Beth Brookfield to swell their support base.

Lauran Hibberd is one of those among the exciting new crop, with her debut album Garageband Superstar recently reaching number 37 in the UK charts upon its release last month.

In the process, the 25-year-old completed her transition from folk singing chanteuse to rebellious slack-pop songstress.

Garageband Superstar accelerates onto the tracks courtesy of the pounding beats of opening tranche Rollercoaster — an appropriately unruly launchpad for the LP with its rocky guitar slides and palpitation inducing guttural percussion.

Still Running is another triumph of self-aware insurrection, poignantly positing: "I'm still running the same 5k" to provide a moment of clarity between bookended chaos.

Stepmom is the first track to fully embrace Lauran's customary slacker-pop mantra, with its tongue-in-cheek American lilt and lyrics that unashamedly slap the listener across the face.

There is a brief malaise in the midst of the album, but title track Garageband Superstar is a bona fide belter, and the most melodic three-and-a-bit minutes on the entire album.

An ode to fame, it provides a calm and wistful contrast to the frenzied fare adjacent, highlighting the fickle nature of fame.

It ushers in a stirring final third for the album, with the contemplative Hole in the Head and Slimming Down leaning on heartache and 80s synth respectively to add a depth of emotional vulnerability to the LP.

Fittingly, Lauran's first gig on the Island since her album release will take place at Strings in Newport — the venue where she enjoyed her first headline shows in May 2018.

The final word

Garageband Superstar brims with Lauran Hibberd's requisite acerbic wit and storm-tossed storytelling.

That said, its the hitherto unseen vulnerability unveiled by the singer that ensures she reaches new levels with this rewarding debut release.