StanLei – DUALOVE – Musician Spotlight
Love is a theme that has launched the careers of countless artists, with stories recounting tales of both heartbreak and true love captivating audiences for all of humankind’s history. StanLei is no stranger to covering the dual nature of love & loss in her songwriting.
This dichotomy of love – the immense pain that it can bring when unrequited juxtaposed with the immeasurable joy true love provides – is exactly what Toulouse-based singer-songwriter-producer, StanLei, explores on her most recent release, the DUALOVE EP, released on Valentine’s Day this year (February 14th, 2021).
StanLei is the stage name of feminist alt-pop musician Jennifer Stanley, whose background in the cello has no doubt influenced the acoustic sound of her latest EP’s first track, “Dr. Sunshine.” Still, her experiences in her adopted hometown of Bristol, UK, as well as her four-year stint traveling throughout Europe as a seasonal nomadic worker, have influenced her musical sensibilities.
One can hear influences as varied as jazz, garage, and underground hip hop in her sound: in fact, the second track of her DUALOVE EP is a rhythmic UK-bass track entitled “L(I)VE MODE [SOLDIER],” which contrasts the lighthearted first track of the EP both sonically and thematically.
As with her previous releases, the lyrics on StanLei’s latest tracks are incredibly honest, refusing to obfuscate the songs’ meanings with complicated metaphors while simultaneously avoiding being overly simplistic. For example, StanLei croons on the heartbreak track “L(I)VE MODE [SOLDIER],
“what the fuck am I doing here / watching silhouettes of mansions / I can’t get my mind off of you / and it’s not because you’re handsome / I just love all your posturing.”
This exact type of lyrical sensibility carries through all of StanLei’s work: “Wake Up,” the lead single from her forthcoming debut album, perhaps encapsulates this the most clearly as StanLei croons about issues of global justice without mincing any words.
StanLei brings a unique voice and vision to her music, and she will no doubt continue to stand out both sonically and thematically with the release of her debut album, AIPOD, which is scheduled to release in spring/summer of this year.
DUALOVE EP encapsulates this unique voice as it shows love as two sides of the same coin: an all-encompassing high when it goes well, as in “Dr. Sunshine,” and an overwhelming low when it goes wrong, as in “L(I)VE MODE [SOLDIER].”
Austin’s arbitrary rating for DUALOVE EP is: 2 hearts; one full and one broken. 💖💔
StanLei is the stage name of Toulouse, France-based singer-songwriter-producer Jennifer Stanley. She can be found on Spotify, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and SoundCloud.
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About The Author
Austin James
Austin is a New Jersey native whose eclectic taste in music has had him purchasing some strange releases since middle school. Today, collecting physical music releases remains a hobby of his along with your other typical millennial pastimes, such as drinking beer (less often than he cares to admit) and playing video games (more often than he cares to admit). He works in the healthcare field, lives with a beautiful calico rescue cat, and is inordinately gay. Please support Austin by donating to him directly https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/AustinGreitz
