Switch Hit Records – 25 Jun 2024
A spacious, experimental album full of tenderly sung dark lullabies and ambient but melodic synth leads
Leave the Light On is Jae Soto‘s first self-produced LP. The power of her independent production allows it to be undeniably seasoned with Soto’s musical tastes and preferences. She has produced an album full of hauntingly cozy sounds, with melodies that are whimsical and synth-forward. Experimental tones twist themselves into fascinating lullabies, where spacious vocals tenderly croon to the listener over electronic beats. I am a firm believer in listening to concept albums chronologically, and Leave the Light On deserves this treatment. Each track flourishes within its consistent sound palette, with Soto’s vocal style relatively unvarying. This compliments the project, however, to be listened to the way Soto intended – as a singular “warm embrace.”
The first track shares its name with the album and feels like a love letter to the project itself. Soto’s fae-like vocals float along with playful synth melodies that slowly ebb and flow to create prettily eerie movement. The second track, “Best of Us,” launches itself from the diving board of the album’s introduction, leaning into a subtle dissonance which evocatively recurs throughout the LP. “Standing” catches the ear next with plucky, sci-iiesque chord progressions. Soto’s vocals swell beautifully over those repetitive beats. We come back down to Earth with her on the forth track, “Honesty,” which is, as its name suggests, gorgeously vulnerable (and my favorite on the LP.) Soto’s secondary vocals reverberate spaciously behind the lead’s, and ambient waves build towards the climax of the song.
Soto’s work erupts into sonnets on the second half of the album, notably with the delicately constructed fifth track, “Shelter.” Coming back-to-back after “Honesty,” they play out a powerful one-two punch of beauty and, by the time the listener meets her sixth track, “Low,” they are entirely caught up in her poignant melancholy. “Low” is a hypnotic ballad which has a lo-fi backbone. It flows flawlessly into the seventh track, “Stable Waters,” which returns us lyrically and sonically to a more optimistic outlook as its progressive synths brighten, and Soto’s voice finds new strength clarity in the mix.
From here, the last three ton the album pick up the pace. “IAOH” emerges boldly from the bed of its somber, poppy predecessors. It sees Soto dabbling in new vocal arrangements, while avante-garde percussive elements provide a groovy rhythm. “Working the Weekend” follows well, building from its faster tempos and holding onto its intriguing auxiliary additions. It is the sort of song that threads itself together before the listener, crescendoing steadily throughout. You can feel how these choppier, higher energy songs are moving the album towards its close. Despite the forward motion occurring here, these all still have the hazy, dreamlike quality that knits the project together.
The album concludes with its tenth track, “Relax Your Mind,” which elaborates on all of the tones that have been developed and refined as the album progressed. Soto’s vocals are robuster, but still incredibly sweet. There is an infectiously 80s synth riff leading the melody, layered into more eccentric harmonies.
In its totality, this project feels alive – it breathes in and out of sorrow and hope, blooming slowly as its many layers sprawl outwards. Its instrumentation is delicately fuzzed and deliberately structured to conjure sensations of a gnawing nostalgia and, at times, childlike wonder. This album reminds us to have a lust for life despite its struggles. Listening to the LP front-to-back feels like delving into someone’s memories and being trusted with their heart. The empathetic listener can relate to the humanity being expressed, and allow themselves to get swept up in Soto’s soft blankets of indie pop.
Jae Soto Bandcamp
Link page (streaming services)
