Lila Drew – “Crystal Ball”

Rising L.A. indie singer-songwriter shares honest, stripped-down new single

20-year-old singer-songwriter Lila Drew shares her honest and stripped-back side with her latest single “Crystal Ball.” Growing up listening to everything including Led Zeppelin, Public Enemy and Smokey Robinson, the rising musician continues on her path of crafting introspective songs that vary from R&B-inspired sonics to more indie-folk-leaning production.

“Crystal Ball” is the latest from the London-born, Los Angeles-raised artist, and sees her soft and delicate double-tracked vocals touch openly on past relationships: “I wore a jacket for you//Couldn’t have you putting yours on mine,” she croons over a rich picked acoustic guitar. The track is sonically reminiscent of artists like Bon Iver and Phoebe Bridgers in the use of double tracking guitars and vocals, which creating a rich sound despite the limited instrumentation. The song concludes with Lila Drew admitting that she’s “Afraid that I am nervous/ Even though I wouldn’t ask you even if I knew you’d heard it” – accompanied by lush cello and string arrangements to go with her emotive vocal delivery.

“A lot of the songs were just me trying to use words in interesting ways,” she shared.

Give it a spin below: