Jazz Radar: Lyla’s ‘Heart on Rent’ EP Makes Her a Promising Jazz Voice to Watch

Singer-songwriter Lyla has emerged with a four-song EP, Heart on Rent, which immediately makes you notice the titles of the songs — “Pomegranate Lips”, “Second Draft”, “If I Die Today”, and “Heart on Rent” — are almost hints of the intimacy and warmth within the music.

Hailing from Nashik, Lyla studied Hindustani classical music as a young girl and has done jingles and other commercial work, but was drawn to the music of Janis Joplin, Bob Dylan, and Jimi Hendrix. Her journey into blues and jazz deepened after she heard and met Tipriti Kharbangar from the Shillong blues band Soulmate, an experience that left a lasting impression. Immersing herself in the voices of Bessie Smith, Alberta Hunter, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, and Betty Carter, she felt the pain and resilience in their singing. “That’s where my unapologetic storytelling comes from,” Lyla tells Rolling Stone India. “There’s no going back once you hear jazz and the blues.” Her singing conveys much of the pain she feels in her songs.

Those influences and experiences surface clearly on her Heart on Rent EP. The lyrics are creative and imaginative throughout, and we singled out “Second Draft” as best representing the artist’s voice and the effect of the accompaniment in a jazz setting. 

While Lyla is the vocalist and lyricist on the EP, piano and arrangements are the work of Surel Ingale and I.D. Rao plays the saxophone on “Pomegranate Lips.”The title track, “Heart on Rent,” has the potential to become a standard if it gets the exposure it deserves. Its lyrics and mood remind us of the very popular jazz tune “Love for Sale,” sung extensively by jazz vocalists. “Heart on Rent” could be a sequel.

“Pomegranate Lips” is catchy, but we found the percussion throughout to be a bit excessive and in need of tempering to give the vocals proper justice.

“Second Draft” gives us a glimpse of Lyla as a jazz crooner. Her lyrics create a mood essential for a jazz performance, and the accompanying trumpet complements the atmosphere nicely.

“If I Die Today” is a good vehicle for a jazz song, even if the lyrics are a little melodramatic. The song has the potential to be molded into several interpretations and styles.

If there is a young jazz musician today deserving greater recognition and exposure, it would have to be Lyla. She has demonstrated a fine feeling for jazz, both in her lyrics and singing, and will only get better with time.

Lyla has places to go. And we think she will get there.