Best of Canberra Music with Vince Leigh

LEILA

UNCOVER

Leila’s debut EP, Uncover, drops like a quiet bomb, sneaking up on you with its unassuming piano intros and hushed vocals, only to slap you upside the head with hooks that lodge themselves in your brain and refuse to budge.

From the moment Redemption Song kicks off, it’s clear this is no run-of-the-mill singer-songwriter looking for a way into your Spotify algorithm.

No, Leila has a grasp of melody that’s as sly as it is sharp. She’s a pop artist who’s read the playbook and decided to rewrite it in real-time, her songs moving like they’ve got somewhere important to be.

Let’s start with Redemption Song.

You think you know where it’s going—a nice piano ballad, maybe a few flourishes—and then, BOOM, the pre-chorus sneaks in, letting Leila’s voice take over. By the time the chorus hits, you’ve signed up.

It’s got that perfect mix of R&B sensibility and pop accessibility, the kind of thing that sounds deceptively simple. The bridge? More of an extension than a diversion, but it works, keeping the whole thing on track without losing the build.

No More follows, and this is where Leila flexes her range, not just vocally but emotionally. It’s another piano-driven track, but Leila knows how to work that space between melancholy and defiance. The chorus is the payoff again, this time riding on her upper register with a kind of effortless grace.

And here’s the kicker: she doesn’t oversell it.

So many artists would belt this into oblivion, but Leila knows when to pull back, and it’s that restraint that keeps the whole thing from tipping over into melodrama.

Then we get to Colour Blind, and things start to pulse. This track has a rhythm that’s almost tactile, a thrumming verse that lets Leila showcase her impressive vocal dexterity.

There’s a bit of country in there, sure, but not the twangy, trucker-hat kind—this is contemporary, slick, and thoroughly pop, but not in that bubblegum way.

It’s confident, like she knows she’s blending genres and doesn’t need your permission to do it.

And the groove in the chorus? It’s one of those that hits you in the gut, reaching an almost celebratory edge in its lift.

You’ll Shine When The Time’s Right slows it down, but not in a way that drags. The acoustic guitar sets the stage, but there’s a subtle rhythmic foundation that sneaks in, giving the song an expansive feel without bloating it. It’s introspective without being navel-gazing. The chorus is a stripped-back gem, letting the lyrics breathe and hit harder than they would in a more crowded arrangement.

Closing out the EP is You’re Always The First To Know, a track that somehow manages to be both intimate and sweeping.

There’s a pulse beneath the acoustic framework, as if the song is pushing you along even as it invites you to sit down and stay a while.

This is folk-pop at its best— raw, direct, but not without its gleaming polish.

Listen to Uncover on Spotify and keep up with Leila’s news via her linktr.ee