Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
It is not a question that comes easy, one though where the answer might always be found lurking at the back of the mind, and one where when all is considered, can be seen to place the very idea of soul searching to which many of either embrace, or we shy away from, concerned with the results that will undoubtedly come our way; to be asked Are You Lonely Enough? is one that is born of regret, rejection and the opening of wounds that don’t recover.
However, as Frankfurt native Leonie Jakobi explores in her single, Are You Lonely Enough?, finding that answer is one being guarded by a double edged sword, on the one hand the response can cut deep, it can feel as if it is the end of the world when you realise that even in a room full of friends, you are but a stranger to their eyes, that with a lover, they are only with you for being the pleasure of being with you. Yet, if offered the deep reflection in which to arrive at a sentiment of personal growth, it is the moment where you understand that being lonely is preferable to the lies and control of others, that you are a better person for being alone.
Listening to a musician, a songwriter, a person of any poetic leaning, tackle the emotional pressure associated with the sense of isolation and remoteness that comes with the ties that unbind, is one that never fails to bring the listener closer to the art itself. You only have to think of The Beatles track Eleanor Rigby to understand just what loneliness does to a person’s psyche and Leonie Jakobi feels the pulse of that sensation wonderfully in her single.
It is no wonder when you reflect on her musical upbringing, raised on a diet of Bruce Springsteen and The Beatles by her father, the ruthless, perhaps unforgiving fairness plays a distinctive role in her vision. It is one that gives hope, reason, and through a measure of perspective that we all need to hold onto occasionally; especially when the chips appear down but instead, if we look deeper, are actually the signposts that life has a finer plan for us, if we are willing to take a chance and walk away.
A beautifully haunting, harmonious track, one that introduces Leoni Jakobi to the Liverpool, and wider audiences, superbly.
Leonie Jakobi releases Are You Lonely Enough? On February 21st.
Ian D. Hall