Knar Bedian

If Mountains Sang: LP

2/14/2014 – Paradise Rock Club

Last night, LP was all things mountain. It’s not because “Into the Wild” was featured in a Citi commercial (the woman scales a mountain). LP’s voice has an immensity about it that evokes these towering landforms; her controlled, booming bellowing blew away the younger Kodaline crowd. Her more devoted fans lined the front of the stage, stretching their hands out to the curly afro-haired woman, who reached back out – literally connecting with her audience.

LP is a collision of contrasting concepts: her bad-ass rugged leather jacket look is balanced by the more timid tones of the ukulele. Her powerful, striking vocals are the complete opposite of what Boston Globe’s James Reed calls the somewhat under-appreciated “little voice” and but boy, does she rock it.

Hitting off the night with a tune she performed at the Grammy’s two years ago, she packed the set list with a number of solid tracks, belting out the “whoah-ah-oh’s” of Tokyo Sunrise without missing a beat. Among her original songs LP snuck in a cover of Coldplay’s “The Scientist,” inciting the crowd to join in – an echoing “nobody says it was easy” filled the venue.

Sadly, the set was short, and when we expressed this to LP last night, she agreed. We’ll be looking out for her to come back in Boston. Hopefully, next time she’ll be headlining.