Or:la sticks it to injustice with Trusting Theta

For Or:la a.k.a Orlagh Dooley, queer and feminine identity is at the forefront of Trusting Theta, a brooding, suspenseful and stirring expression of female rage, power, softness, and community.

From initial singles ‘’Fired Up’’, ‘’Chant’’, ‘’Sea Slugs’’, and ‘’Tame the Beast’’ it was clear that this record would stick to this attitude. Having described herself in the past as ‘not fitting into a little box’ and being ‘hard to place’ Dooley’s debut album Trusting Theta is a prickly yet sensual expression of self-identity that holds no quarter in its honesty, firmly asserting that the vulnerability in that honesty is no signifier of weakness through sharp vocal samples, a variety of pace and influences, and a noticeable lack of need for attention grabbing loudness.

Trusting Theta is an album that’s quietly assured of itself, a representation of Dooley herself and how she’s come to create this album as an extension of herself over the past 7 years since her last release.

It’s a record that’s grounded in community whether that’s through themes such as anger in the face of the male gaze, queer female joy, or the drive to assert one's own identity uncompromisingly that is so relevant to the queer community and broader feminine audience, or by bringing in collaborators such as SOAK, Mary Lake, or Eliza Rose to contribute their talents.

The album’s opening track ‘’Milky Way Of Glitter’’ is a firm and bass-heavy minute of shimmering poetry lent to the project by fellow Derry-born artist SOAK, followed by ‘’Cooking Up Pepper Spray With Mary Lake’’, a steady techno-based beat overlaid with Mary and Orlagh’s discussion about creating makeshift Pepper Spray following the controversial classification of pepper spray as a firearm in Northern Ireland.

‘’Fired Up’’ and ‘’Chant’’ build the pace through the assertive bassline and breakbeat that is often prevalent across her club nights. ‘’Sea Slugs’’ is a more Dub orientated follow up and ‘’Cupid Doesn’t Live in Clapham Common’’ is a chugging spacial track that leaves meaning to the imagination through it’s pointed title. ‘’Patriarchy Purge’’ comes in with a faster acidy tempo leading into ‘’Slay The Beast’’, a fierce call to arms against injustice and unity between women and the queer community in the face of sexism and homophobia. Concluding the record is a pulsing glittery ‘’Goodnight Sister Boom Boom’’, bringing the album to a soft and gentle end, gliding down from the rage and fearless expression of Or:la’s world.

At the centre of this album is an uncompromising commitment to the authentic expression of sapphic joy and self identity. The title Trutsing Theta comes from the thought of unconscious Theta states associated with higher levels of spirituality, creativity, and learning, and the idea of trusting yourself in moments of a heightened state of self connection. The album is a gracefully delicate and sensual expression of the self and what lies within, asserting that vulnerability and honesty are far from signifiers of weakness.

Overall, Trusting Theta is a delightfully assertive expression of female power and prowess. Over the course of 35 minutes Or:la manages to firmly assert herself through an soft, yet prickly and uncompromising record that touches on the full spectrum of her abilities and identity. As Or:la has often comfortably noted, she has regularly been described as someone who is ‘hard to place’ and isn’t afraid of that. By not shying away from that she has created a fiercely cohesive album that is a raw, confident, and bristling (yet delicately delivered) expression of queer and feminine beauty that captures Dooley’s talents and beliefs through a diverse spectrum of sound.