Lou Roy's Pure Chaos is more than the sum of its sonically contrasting parts

Opener “Valkyrie” spotlights idiosyncratic percussion – courtesy of claps, clicks, and taps – which neatly underpins the track’s lyrical exploration of the tenets of chaos magic: “chaos reigns / All is permitted”. This principle is one that Roy weaves throughout her work, using it as a jumping off point from which to experiment with digitised vocals (“Scroll”), guitar-led balladry (“Bull Ride”), and sultrier, bass-heavy production (“Down Since ’07”).

Taken individually, these tracks could frame her as a certain ‘type’ of artist. However, a firm rejector of genre classifications, Roy instead proves at every turn that she’s not one to be pigeonholed. Take lead single “Uppercut” – initially, it is the punchy folk-pop chorus and HAIM-esque hooks which grab your attention. But with a second listen (and a third, and fourth…) comes an appreciation of the unexpected lyrical balance Roy strikes here between unpolished colloquialisms (“totally fucking shit”) and her more poetic reflections: “I just wanted to feel seen / And I think he knew that when he took what he took from me”.

This is a thematic tightrope that Roy clearly delights in walking, as her subversion of expectations is made all the more obvious by the album’s track placement. “If We Were Strangers” is a tender, nostalgic number on which Roy explores the strained relationship she has with her parents; following track “Myth”, meanwhile, is alt-pop at its most playful – the sound of ice cubes clinking at its start evokes an almost Pavlovian feeling of warm summer nights.

Despite these sometimes stark sonic contrasts, however, there’s nothing here that feels too clever or contrived. And as we lean back into the soaring vocals and stripped back arrangement of yearning album closer “Dream”, Roy deftly demonstrates that with Pure Chaos, the whole is undoubtedly more than the sum of its parts.