L'Rain (album)
L'Rain is the self-titled debut studio album by experimental musician Taja Cheek, who performs as L'Rain. The album was released in 2017 by New York City-based label Astro Nautico and included in best-of-year lists by publications including "Pitchfork" and "Bandcamp Daily". The album cover is an image of Cheek's forearm, which is tattooed "L'Rain"; she chose the name after her mother, Lorraine, died during the making of the record. "L'Rain" features Andrew Lappin on guitars, Alex Goldberg on drums and percussion, Jeremy Powell on saxophone, and TV on the Radio's Kyp Malone  on backing vocals. Cheek composed and performs vocals, keyboards, synthesizers, guitar, bass, samples, and percussion on the album, which she co-produced with Lappin. Musical style. "L'Rain" has been recognized as an experimental album drawing on many traditions and genres; reviewers have identified the work's style and influences as including free jazz, ambient, noise music, and disco; R&B, post-punk, and avant-garde rock; shoegaze, psychedelic, hip hop, and outsider music; jazz, electronic music, and dream pop; soul and folk; and more. L'Rain often layers and loops her vocals, and her work frequently features samples from her collection of  hundreds of field recordings, some pitch-shifted or otherwise manipulated beyond recognition. She has spoken in interviews about her work's tendency to evade or reject categorization, and in an interview following the debut's release said, "I would hope that people would find elements of gospel, 90s r&b, and different genres of 'experimental music' (for lack of a better term) in my music, but I generally try to remain as illegible as possible. There is power in remaining indiscernible. I like to exist in a liminal space." Critical reception. Jay Balfour for "Pitchfork" assessed "L'Rain" with general positivity, calling  it "a beautiful, untidy conduit of [Cheek's] grieving." Track listing. All songs by L'Rain. Personnel. Adapted from the record's Bandcamp page. L'Rain Additional musicians Technical Artwork and design