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Blood, Looms and Blooms [Digipak]

Leila
1 disc

1. Mollie
2. Time to Blow
3. Little Acorns
4. Daisies, Cats and Spacemen
5. Mettle
6. Teases Me
7. Carplos
8. Exotics, The
9. Deflect
10. Norwegian Wood
11. Lush Dolphins
12. Ur Train
13. Young Ones
14. Why Should I?
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Additional Info

Manufacturer Part Number (MPN): 0167
Credits

Producer
Engineer
Personnel: Roya Arab, Martina Topley-Bird, Terry Hall , Luca Santucci (vocals); Lance Shepherd (guitar); Zan Lyons (cello); Kweku Aacht, Sabina Doobay (clarinet).
Iranian expat Leila Arab had been dormant for eight or so years, but returned with 2008's BLOOD, LOOMS & BLOOMS. It's a long record that's ripe with what the producer does best: lush tracks that alternate between gently pulsating and quietly somber--often elegiac, and mostly gorgeous. She brings in a long list of vocalists to bring her songs to life. There's a winning cover of the Beatles' "Norwegian Wood" featuring vocals by Luca Santucci, and former Special Terry Hall similarly lends his pipes to a few tracks. The guests make the album feel nearly like a compilation, and ensure that Leila doesn't get pigeonholed into a niche sound.
Critic Reviews

The Wire (p.51) - "Leila truly understands how uncanny folk stories can take you away, then return you to the everyday, rattled and looking askance at even the most innocent things."
The Wire (p.102) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "[A]s tuneful as it is brazen: 'Meddle' crunches like a great Nine Inch Nails instrumental..."
Mojo (Publisher) (p.106) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[Leila] pulls off this ambitious album and ends on a high note with 'Why Should I?,' a stuttering, cabaret duet between Hall and Martina Topley Bird."