Lava La Rue is an artist from London who made their recording debut in the mid-2010s. However, it was just last year when they had a breakthrough with the release of their EP Butter-fly on Marathon. Now they are right back with another impressive EP, Hi-Fidelity.

One of the things that made Butter-fly so impressive was the seamless way that La Rue was able to bring all of these different styles and influences together in the course of just five songs. With that said, it should be no surprise that La Rue was once again able to do this on Hi-Fidelity. With the opening “Don’t Trip,” La Rue weaves together some Quiet Storm R&B, with some beautiful and delicate sung vocals, only to switch things up and come in harder with the drums and raps, before segueing back to the smooth vibes. “Cry Baby” brings the Erykah Badu influence to the forefront, mixing the neo-soul and hip hop perfectly to create this track that just feels like you’re floating in the clouds. “Don’t Come Back” brings the sultry ‘80s vibes with the reverb-heavy guitar and bumping bass line, before transitioning to the ‘90s R&B/hip hop party vibes of the title track. Then everything gets burned down to the grown with the Prince-inspired closing track “Motel,” complete with a guitar solo to bring the house down. All in all, it’s a beautiful, funky, and entertaining EP to listen to.

Hi-Fidelity shows that Butter-fly was no fluke, as La Rue continues to build upon this musical foundation, marrying hip hop, R&B, neo-soul, funk, electro-boogie, disco, and rock into a style that is all their own. La Rue can rap, sing, and write and arrange music that brings all of these influences together in a way that sounds completely natural and make it really enjoyable to listen to.