Los Angeles artist Low Leaf has been carving out her own unique musical path since the beginning of this decade, as a harp player, producer, and vocalist. Each time out she’s made something different, but it’s always interesting. With her last album, Palm Psalms: A Light To Resolve All Darkness, which came out in 2016, was an ambitious jazz-inspired singer-songwriter’s album. Now she comes back with yet another different approach with her latest EP, PRiMiTiVA.

When someone has cover as much musical ground as Low Leaf, there’s a little bit of excitement built into each release, because you don’t automatically know what to expect. With PRiMiTiVA, we see some of her most upbeat and percussion-heavy compositions to date, bringing to mind someone like tUnE-yArDs as the closest comparison as she brings in all of these global influences not just to her percussion, but to her melodic elements as well. There’s a little bit of hip hop and electronic production that helps corral all of these different elements and gives the EP a through line as a listener, but it’s never overpowering. While Low Leaf herself is responsible for vocals, harp, keys, and percussion, she brings in bass, flute, sax, guitar, drums, and some additional production from Zeroh and Aye Mitch! to give the EP this live energy. It’s an EP that is somehow both challenging and celebratory in its composition, as Low Leaf moves from the current political and social situation around her to the more immediate exploration of her own personal life and spirituality. It’s an EP that’s always moving and will always keep you on your toes as you listen to it.

Low Leaf has established herself as an artist with few peers over the years, as she continues to reinvent herself musically and expand her sound, while never losing the core of her identity. PRiMiTiVA is an excellent next chapter in her book as she keeps pushing herself forward.