LIV.E ‘GIRL IN THE HALF PEARL’ IS A BEAUTIFUL UNCOMPROMISING EXPRESSION OF SELF

Liv.e is a natural visual learner who is able to have fun and enjoy the creative process free from pressure from others. This open interpretation is what gives her sophomore album Girl In The Half Pearl, as well as her earlier works F.R.A.N.K., Couldn’t Wait To Tell You…, their cryptic soundscapes.

Liv.e creates a patchwork of frequencies on Girl In The Half Pearl by fusing drum & bass with stacked harmonies, going full techno to a fuck-haters tirade, and filling bottomless spaces with reverb’d screams. “I’m finally in a place to talk my shit with a new mindset of being able to say what’s on my heart,” she told Matthew Ritchie for Rolling Stone. It’s not like the 25-year-old Los Angeles native hasn’t previously made her diaries public. But unlike on other projects, she isn’t drawn to dallying in romance.She’s had enough of talking about it. In contrast to her earlier works, Girl In The Half Pearl is brasher and explores the secret, hidden areas of the author’s heart to look into the struggle within.

On the opening track, “Gardetto,” Liv.e plunges headfirst into a maze of irrational notions. The hasty scatting of the drum and bass is reminiscent of her mind’s disorganized chaos. Dial tones masquerade as alien communications while Liv.e sings in a robotic voice, “I despise all these thoughts of mine they won’t let me sleep.” Statement-opening “Gardetto” takes a sharp turn away from CWTTY’s foamy dream state. She begins “RESET!” by emphasizing the words in an odd way: “Chop my head off I wanna/Roll my eyes back/Don’t wanna see what time sent.” “RESET!” expresses Liv.e’s disdain for the suffering and violence in the world and her attempt to find some peace within herself.

In a society where neat, clean, and easily understood motifs are prioritized, Liv.e thematically weaves the ideas of womanhood and honest expression throughout the entire album. For Liv.e and those who can connect, that might sound like a breakdown of the mind when the electric guitar riffs and drum beats of the indie rock song “Clown” are playing, or it might sound like daydreaming about what might have been while the ringing synths and helicopter propeller effects are playing during the song “Find Out.”

Maybe it’s being brave after listening to the sensuous song “Slumber Party” on a heart-pounding voicemail or remaining composed while the experimental ballad “Lake Psilocybin” plays in the trunk. With a sound and visual story, Liv.e projects her path through femininity through these various approaches.

The ambiguity of Liv.e’s creative process is evident in her interviews and live performances. On “Our Father,” she uses just one sample, a looming, contagious cover of Helen Baylor’s “If It Had Not Been for the Lord on My Side,” which is undoubtedly the album’s high point. To achieve this homegrown effect, she admits to OkayPlayer the need to pause and observe the inspiration around her: “And also, just sitting still. N***s hate sitting still.” Interlude tracks like “Snowing,” “Six Weeks,” and the instrumental “Back Alley” give listeners poetic pauses where Liv.e refrains from using more than ten lines to explain what the jazzy, mystical instrumentals can’t. This is in contrast to the drum and bass-heavy single “Ghost,” which dominates the tracklist.

Even though Girl In The Half Pearl is inappropriate for the typical musically illiterate listener, it exudes confidence. Liv.e makes it evident that she is not seeking outside acceptance, frequently approaching situations with humility and no desire to attract attention or acclaim. She performs Girl In The Half Pearl with dynamic octave shifts, futuristic pitch changes, and underground jazz infusions that speak for themselves and produce a theatrical portrayal of the multiple characters she harbors.