Review: awfultune unpacks ‘unreleased demos II’ with new release

Known onstage at awfultune, the alternative storyteller inhabits the space between the head and the heart. As evidenced by a new collection of unreleased demos, some old and some new, Layla treads gurgling emotional waters, steeped in the human experience with a keen eye on her trans journey. She wades chest-deep and takes the audience by the hand, immersing them in a vibrating lyrical world.

“I’m so fucked up from this illness / And I do not know what’s real,” she confides with “malware,” a prickly performance puncturing the epidermis. In delicately analyzing her mental health, she invites the listener into her dark-webbed world. Her words crush bones to dust; they effectively capture both the beauty and tragedy of the world. There’s no stone unturned.

From “Pluto and the Moon,” the fragile, teary opener, to the homespun “things,” Layla teeters on the shadowy abyss. She ignites quiet fury, only present in soft glimmers around the edges. She bookends the project with “be ur dog,” complete with dog barks, that sees her begging for love. “Let me be your dog,” she coos.

The minimalism of unreleased demos II is expected, but what isn’t expected is the weight awfultune wields in her path. She swings for the fences, and even as a demo project, it arrives today (May 10) as one of the year’s heaviest releases.

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