Concert Review: La Force Feels Supernatural At Mercury Lounge
“A lot of people are becoming ghosts lately,” La Force said in reference to her uncle’s suicide. At Mercury Lounge, it was the darkest moment in what felt like a light show wafered in synths and sax. Yet, the phrase struck me as a consolidating reference to La Force’s supernatural rock.
Dressed in what appeared to be an ethereal nightgown, as she played, I kept on thinking of those movie scenes where the young woman is running through the woods to perceived freedom. “Perception is key,” is a phrase that you will hear, often, in life, and La Force’s songs like, “TBT,” “The Tide,” or “Lucky One” played to this notion. Her newest, self-titled album was influenced by her marriage, becoming a mom, and the journey of self-identity we all must take when we become an essential part to others’ lives. As her voice filleted notes like the easiest knife to cut through emotional skins, her concert ambiance became one of offering.
From “You Amaze Me” to “Upside Down Wolf,”you wanted to give La Force your heart to teach it how to feel and your mind to open it to thought. Hence, the mystical undercurrent of her sound, that makes her feel like Radiohead’s “There There” on loop. Yet, she is not just the song in style, but its lyrics in theme, particularly “Just cause you feel it, doesn’t mean it’s there.” Emotionally, her verses feel divided: like a person trying to figure out of all her feelings , which ones are or should be made real to her. Sure, a fact is a fact, but your feelings towards them are the choice.
I thought a lot as I heard La Force’s set because she sparks imagination like the beginning of a fire. Yet, she does it so effortlessly, which is why that initial quote stood out to me for a different reason. In life, you can choose to be alive or choose to be ghost; you can push through the mishaps and forge a sense of being or you can fade away. For La Force, the witty songstress is writing music to help you see the ultimate choice: be present or be lost. For More Information On La Force Click Here.
