A few times a year, a new album drops, and I find myself listening to it on repeat. For days extending into weeks. This time, it’s the new offering from independent LA-based duo VOILÀ. I discovered VOILÀ in 2020, when Spotify threw the addictive, stalker-ish, and sexy “Figure You Out” into a mix, and I was captivated. It’s a yearning song, one that demands repeated plays. Go ahead. Listen to it now, then come back for the rest of this review.
Welcome back. Captivating, right? (Don’t worry; you can listen to it again later. We’re here to talk about The Last Laugh (Part I).)
VOILÀ comprises Luke Eisner (vocals) and Gus Ross (guitar), friends from the USC Thornton School of Music who bonded over a shared admiration of the late DJ/electronic dance pioneer Avicii. From their origins in electronica, VOILÀ soon shifted to pop/rock, guided by synthesizer beats and acoustic guitar, which best suited their respective strengths.
The Last Laugh (Part I) opens on the poppier side, drawing you in with its earnest lyrics and double meanings. “The Last Laugh?” begins with a xylophone, quickly easing into Eisner’s yearning vocals and tale of lost love. I loved “At Second Thought” from the first note. The pain comes through, in all its beauty, in lines like, “You got me like ‘I love you to the moon’ but never back.”
“Kiss & Tell a Phone,” the album’s first single, is an upbeat and earnest song about wanting to ditch the long-distance calls and texts in favor of being “face to face and nose to nose.” Following the pulsating lost-love song “after (h)ours,” “One Foot Out the Door” is optimistic and hopeful, a story of what could be: “’Cause what if the numbers on napkins / become ‘That’s how I met your mom, kids’? / Darling, you never know.”
And, suddenly, the deepening night. The dark, synth-y “I Hope That It’s Fatal” is simultaneously insinuating, urgent, swelling, and soaring. There’s a steady, urgent beat, earnest vocals, and a cohesion that rivals some of the biggest names in music. One of my favorite lines: “‘A boy was born with seeds inside his soul’ / Is what the headline reads / So all these years digging myself a hole / Is just poetic gardening / After the funeral / Will flowers start to grow?”
“Better Off” is a catchy, guitar-strummed song about the desire to stay home when you have plans to go out. Eisner teases the two meanings in the title, singing, “’Cause we’d be better off / If we were turning down the lights / And turning the locks / And, girl, you’re looking good in your St. Laurent / But I just gotta tell you / That it’d be better off.”
Cue the laser lights and raise your phones. “Unhappy Hour” is gritty, spare, anthemic rock—all in the same song—with a taste of falsetto. Another stadium song is “Plead the Fifth,” which is about choosing silence over admission: “We are the perfect match / But matches burn out way too fast / I’d rather wonder than turn to ash.” “Wish You Hell” is grinding and tough, its lyrics reflective of the song you just listened to. Cheekily name-dropping their earlier music, Eisner sings, “I hope when he plays you / Some indie song he found / I hope that it’s ‘Something Blue’ / Or it’s ‘Figure You Out.’”
Ready for something different? “Digital Zombies” is schizophrenic, energetic, and frenetic. Whereas the vocals retain the rock/pop feel, the guitars and drums reflect heavy metal, and the synthesizer brings an industrial vibe. When I first heard the album, I felt that this song didn’t belong; it’s so much darker, more powerful, angrier, and louder. Then I reconsidered. It’s preceded by VOILÀ’s rock showcase, and further extends their versatility and many, yet cohesive, moods and sounds.
“Out the Blue” begins with a slow guitar reminiscent of Queensrÿche’s “Silent Lucidity,” and keeps that mellow, not-quite-slow-rock sound. Guest vocalist Marlhy’s breathy vocals are a nice counterpoint to Eisner’s, giving the listener two sides of the relationship coin. There’s more of a skip-hop to the drums on “Good Grief” before the song powers into one created for a big arena. Again, the singer’s yearning vocals question his self-made misery.
The Last Laugh (Part I) closes with “Miss Me Sometimes?” the perfect outro to an immersive listening experience (and, if you’re like me, the perfect predecessor to returning to the beginning). The song is sweet, romantic, and bittersweet, a look back at what could have been. Eisner croons, “In another life / … I’d still be your man / Taking your hand / Tipping the band / And telling them to play our song.” We’re treated to his gentle falsetto and Ross’s comforting guitar, a sweet farewell until next time. | Laura Hamlett Schlater
VOILÀ will be on a soon-to-be sold-out U.S. tour this October and November. Although there isn’t a St. Louis date, the first stop is in Denver (where I live!).
