Rachel Leo - Single Review: Last Call
Building on her initial successes; bursting onto the 2021 pop music scene with her well-received single
Conversation, followed by her stonking 2022 collaboration Dice with Lee Mvtthews, Rachel Leo keeps the ball rolling in the right direction with her latest single release Last Call.
Opening with a romantic vintage-feel EQ sweep, Last Call is a bop with attitude. The production is superbly balanced, with just that perfect little guitar chink, bass line, and simple beat supporting Leo’s sweet indie-style vocals, as the scene is set ...
The accompanying video was directed and shot by Devan Narsai, and the viewer is left in no doubt as to the subject of the song; in a bar on a night out, with our protagonist (played by Richard Crouchley) showing his true colours … and we can be sure that Leo will NOT be sticking around for “last call” as stated in the lyrics of the upbeat and catchy chorus with a Maroon 5 feel. With her head held high, she storms off to strut her stuff on the street and dance in the spotlight as she sings her cares away.
The second verse has a great change-up of the melody, really soaring into those higher registers and exploring some breathier vocal tones. And this is where the song really gets into the nitty-gritty of the subject’s two-timing ways, with further details of his indiscretions coming to light.
But as the breakdown winds through and slowly unpacks the musical elements of the song, one by one our increasingly desperate suitor is losing all his options, and ultimately winds up finding himself alone.
Not so for Rachel Leo! Her latest single was written with and produced by Drax Project, so she is definitely not alone out there, and is rubbing shoulders with all the right people. With support from NZ On Air funding and working with some top industry names, along with having the talent, songwriting ability, and gorgeous voice to match, Leo is set on a clear path to success. With reviewers predicting her to be the next big NZ pop export, which is not a bad achievement for an independent artist, the future is looking exciting for this one.
This is a great commercial single that easily has you bopping along to it. The production is great and the delivery is perfect, plus the video is slick and everything has been done to a very high standard, so a big congratulations to all who have been involved with the project, and well done on the single release!
About Rachel Leo
A 3-time recipient of NZ On Air funding, she worked with Alex Wildwood (The Veronicas, Broods) under the New Music Development initiative last year and was awarded the New Music Single grant to support the release of her next two singles. After studying a Bachelor of Music and honing her writing style, she has been collaborating with the likes of Drax Project, Chores, Lauren Gin and Lee Mvtthews. Her songs have been placed on playlists including Apple Music’s New Music Daily, YouTube’s Released and Spotify’s New Music Friday.
With Rachel taking inspiration from the likes of Kiana Ledé, Maggie Rogers, Dua Lipa and Yebba, it comes as no surprise that she enjoys writing under all areas of the pop umbrella. An eagerly awaited release, her next single Last Call was written with and produced by NZ pop heavyweights, Drax Project and marks the start of Leo’s next chapter.
Visit the muzic.net.nz Profile for Rachel Leo
Releases
Other Reviews By Cathy Elizabeth
Richter City Rebels - Album Review: Big Fresh
23 Feb 2023 // by Cathy Elizabeth
Bustling like a street carnival parade comes the Richter City Rebel’s third studio album Big Fresh. With an impressive list of featured local artists and wall-to-wall brass and percussion, this exuberant collection of colourful tracks would certainly have any crowd pumping at a live show.
Read More...
Revulva - Single Review: This Town
17 Feb 2023 // by Cathy Elizabeth
A flute and muted trumpet herald in what sounds to be the start of a jewel-heist movie, then a cool but suspicious voice speaks out from behind the brim of a tilted hat, leaning in the doorway; “There’s tumbleweeds on the ground, recently I’ve found, this town, is like the wild west”. Sassy, sophisticated, and street-smart are words that spring to mind upon giving Revulva’s latest single This Town a spin.
Read More...
Macho Macho - Single Review: Blink
01 Feb 2023 // by Cathy Elizabeth
Wow, I have to say the new single Blink from Macho Macho is extremely impressive! I was hooked right from the very first listen.
Read More...
Eden Iris - Single Review: Young Guest Feat. Lucie Hill
17 Nov 2022 // by Cathy Elizabeth
I have followed Eden Iris since her (albeit brief) appearance on NZ X Factor in 2013, and I admire the way she has carved out her own path musically since then and created herself a life with music and songwriting well and truly at the heart of it. Proving she never really needed that glorified karaoke contest anyway!
Read More...
Gig Review: Fur Patrol @ San Fran, Wellington - 27/08/2022
29 Aug 2022 // by Cathy Elizabeth
I finally arrived at San Fran just on 8pm, a little grumpy after spending 30+ minutes driving around trying to find a park in Wellington city, where, like many other cities around New Zealand, the councils have decided to eliminate as many parking spaces as possible with bollards, flower pots, bus stops, loading zones, road works, or just by erecting scaffolding barriers for no apparent reason!! The venue was wall-to-wall full, and I marveled that all these people had managed to find parking spaces also.
Read More...
Heavy Chest x BENEE - Single Review: Sunday926
19 Jul 2022 // by Cathy Elizabeth
I must say, I am thoroughly enjoying the new offering from Heavy Chest; a dreamy collab with BENEE, how exciting is that!? And a very new and different sound altogether for this band, led by the talented Andre Smith.
Read More...
Riqi Harawira - Single/Video Review: Walk of Freedom
26 May 2022 // by Cathy Elizabeth
Musician, Support Worker, Maori Customs Teacher, Non-violence Facilitator, and basically all-round amazing human being Riqi Harawira (aka ‘Creative Native’) presents his new single Walk of Freedom with accompanying music video on 24th June 2022. This will coincide with the release of the full-length feature film Whina – ‘A biopic of the trailblazing Maori leader, Dame Whina Cooper, whose extraordinary life saw her break gender boundaries, champion the rights of Maori, and fight for the land - all the while staying true to her heart and her beliefs.
Read More...
Skank Bandit - Single Review: Suck On That
25 May 2022 // by Cathy Elizabeth
Taranaki band Skank Bandit are excited to be releasing new music once again, in the wake of all the Covid lockdowns, hold-ups, and disruption to the music scene. As soon as they were able to jam together in person, this track was the first song they wrote.
Read More...
Most Viewed Artists
Latest Galleries
NZ Top 10 Singles
- BOY'S A LIAR PT. 2
PinkPantheress And Ice Spice - FLOWERS
Miley Cyrus - KILL BILL
SZA - DIE FOR YOU (REMIX)
The Weeknd And Ariana Grande - LAST NIGHT
Morgan Wallen - SURE THING
Miguel - PEOPLE
Libianca - CALM DOWN
Rema And Selena Gomez - ESCAPISM.
RAYE feat. 070 Shake - PLAYERS
Coi Leray
More Content on muzic.net.nz
Google Site Search
100% New Zealand Music
All content on this website is copyright to muzic.net.nz and other respective rights holders. Redistribution of any material presented here without permission is prohibited.
Report A Problem
