This sense of cohesion is essential for both members of Lion Babe. “We can follow our impulses and intuition, which is also a message that we put out in our music,” affirms Jillian. Being able to just do what we need to do was always where we were trying to get to.” “We can move without anyone there giving us second thoughts or trying to put a block on us. “It just allows us the freedom to go with what we think is best and do that freely because we’re able to make our own decisions,” Lucas says in regards to this. Uncovering this “core” has relied on a few pivotal steps since the duo’s inception, most notably the decision to go independent shortly after the release of Begin, their debut album. “It was kind of our marker for what we thought was our true sound, what we draw from and what we do our core.” “I think we’ve always been able to share our identity and sound as well as being true to who we are, but this record definitely felt like something we were waiting to make,” Jillian explains. It’s a 15-track spectacle that showcases all of the funk-flecked charisma of their first album, but with a new, introspective turn for the artists. Seven years down the line and Lion Babe have just dropped their second album, Cosmic Wind. The story behind their break out track is much like their sound – a sonic patchwork of R&B, soul and dance-pop threaded together with Jillian’s powerful, cruising vocals and Lucas’ artful melding. The track – which features a sample of Eunice Collin’s 1974 single ‘At The Hotel’ found by Lucas in a Brooklyn record store – was enough to propel them to open for Childish Gambino at SXSW in March 2013 and inevitably sign with Interscope Records the following summer. Jillian had the voice, Lucas the production skills, and the duo delivered their first official release, ‘Treat Me Like Fire’, in 2012. Lion Babe met at a college party in the early ‘00s. “Once you have an idea you need to start working on it right away.” “Things are always blossoming,” Jillian says simply. Like two birds poised to fly, Jillian and Lucas have taken the sweet spot that exists just before something is about to bloom and devised a means of making that moment eternal in their work. This, however, is just the way that they both seem to work. Not in the sense of busyness – although I don’t doubt that they are – but more so in a shared manner of thinking that leaves them susceptible to the creative whims of their imaginations.Ĭalling from their Brooklyn studio, the two halves of funk-soul duo Lion Babe are relaxed and ready for my questions, but there’s an air of creativity interrupted, as though our chat has interfered with a particularly compelling moment of genius. ‘Begin’ may be more of a reverential piece of art than a novel creation, but there is enough substance here to surmise Lion Babe’s future promise.Jillian Hervey and Lucas Goodman have a way of making it seem as if they’re perpetually in motion. They save the best till last on ‘Little Dreamer’, a soundtrack to a space odyssey, a triumphant closer with galactic guitar flourishes, a crescendo of hope and ceaseless imagination. Not even Pharrell’s usually indelible touch reaches the auditory heights Lion Babe reach on these tracks. ‘Hold On’ and ‘Jungle Lady’ feature cold programmed beats curated perfectly by Goodman, a narcotic dream where Hervey offloads her otherworldly bravado and allure.
![lion babe begin album cover lion babe begin album cover](https://www.90bpm.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/LionBabe_Begin_header.png)
More often than not, it feels as if too much of the album’s soundscape is reliant on retro stylings, when Lion Babe’s own idiosyncratic stamp would pack more of a punch. It’s evident the genre-hopping comes easy to Hervey, her vocal refreshingly pliable. On ‘Where Do We Go’ she channels Gaynor’s disco queen persona, all spunky and anthemic. Showcasing whimsical spaced-out funk on ‘Stressed OUT!’ with an ear-worm vocal echo, Hervey’s Badu-esque harmonies envelope the listener in smoky goodness. That’s not to say that it’s not a good listen because all in all Lion Babe flit between genres with melodious ease. ‘Begin’ feels like an antecedent step in their journey as artists.
![lion babe begin album cover lion babe begin album cover](https://cdns-images.dzcdn.net/images/cover/ce46353d038384d9d2aa4ff485003372/264x264.jpg)
The real question is whether their debut ‘Begin’ justifies the exposure, and whether it’s a case of style over substance. Take Hervey’s lioness mane or the duo’s editorial presence on billboards and fashion campaigns alike. Being touted by the hype train as one of the acts to break through last year, having featured on Disclosure’s sophomore release and reaping the endorsement of established artists, Lion Babe duo Jillian Hervey and Lucas Goodman possess that distinctive aesthetic that becomes a mainstay on Tumblr and Instagram posts alike.