Lily Abbot is by far one of the most interesting characters in the music industry right now, She’s a fiery rock goddess with a vocal ability like no other, her breakthrough into the music industry came at the perfect time as the industry was in need of another rocker chick to worship and her blend of warped lyrics that Stephen King and Edgar Allan Poe would be proud of and her vocal ability that puts many of today’s ‘superstars’ to shame have helped propelled this woman to the top of the rock chick echelons. She is a bizarre individual with a crazed mind but when she puts pen to paper and lays down those vocals, well the only thing you can do is, sit back and admire. So this is my review of her debut album, Raw.

Track 1: Revenge is Sweeter Than Making Up
The album opens with this eclectic mix of fury and rage. It’s the perfect start to what is a rollercoaster of an album. From the slow guitar opening to the accapella vocals in the second verse, it’s eerie, spooky and manages to invoke many feelings when listening to it, my advice to get the best feeling while listening to this song, turn the lights off, put the earphones in and turn the volume up, let it take your soul and once it’s over you’ll feel taking to the streets and creating your own kind of carnage, rarely does a song have this kind of effect on you. One of the standout tracks from the album and a perfect start. 8/10

Track 2: The Bitch In Me
Track two is very guitar heavy, showing just how far into the rock genre that Lily can go with this song, lyrically and vocally it’s pretty epic, however I feel that a slightly less guitar heavy backing would have suited this song a little more, perhaps even acoustic would have been a good option, to give more emphasis to beauty of her vocals which only just manage to compete with the power of the instrumental work on this track. I slightly softer feel could have enhanced the song but that’s just down to my own tastes. 7/10

Track 3: We All Fall Down
This song is perhaps the weakest part of the record, however it is almost redeemed by an absolute perfect vocal from Lily, towards the later stages of the song she hit’s a note that could put her in the same league as the Robert Plant’s and Steven Tyler’s of this world. The song is a little limp for my tastes as it doesn’t really seem to go anywhere with the exception of that perfect vocal from Lily. A little more attention to detail on the song and it could have been a different story. 6/10

Track 4: If This Is Heaven, Send Me Back To Hell
Thankfully, Lily manages to remove any fears after the disappointment of the previous track as she creates a beautiful piece of music with this. Musically it’s rich and epic, the inclusion of flutes, harps and a piano add something else to this. It’s theme, lyrics, music and vocals are all at the very highest standard on this track and in particular, the piano and Lily’s vocals together create one of the most beautiful combinations you will hear. It’s theme about preferring to die rather than live and suffer feel like something Lily feels connected to, certainly she makes us believe the words she sings in this track and for me, it is an undiscovered gem. 8.5/10

Track 5: Gravity Of Love (Enigma Cover)
Gravity Of Love is an absolute treat for me on this record. Already a fan of this kind of music, the opportunity to hear Lily’s take on this was fascinating for me to hear. It’s dark and eerie and suits Lily perfectly as she sings the “O Fortuna velut luna.” I’m already sold on it and I’m more than delighted to hear anyone acknowledging this beautiful song, as the samples of Carmina Burana churn out I’m already in love with this version. Lily shows the ability of her vocals and it feels like she really connects to this song and the music that comes with it. It’s fantastic in my opinion but I’m willing to accept that I may be blind sighted due to my love of the song but it’s a great cover version. 7.5/10

Track 6: Digital Love
This was the very first single from Lily when she broke out early this year. You can see slight differences from this compared to other songs on the record. It feels like she’s come such a long way since this song was recorded and although you can tell that it is Lily it still feels like it isn’t her, perhaps she lets the lyrics empower the song which is understandable, perhaps she tried a little too hard with this being her debut single. The piano on this is a plus and the theme is certainly different and should appeal to her teenage fanbase but I feel like there could have been a little more to this song. Perhaps perfecting it a little more could have made this a standout, but as it is I feel it leaves us wanting a little more from it. 6.5/10

Track 7: Puppet
This is an extremely dark and emotional song, close to Lily’s heart. It’s themes abandonment and neglect make it an emotional rollercoaster and her vocals are beautifully matched with the lyrics which makes you feel something pretty powerful as all great songs do it makes you feel something in your soul and could quite easily bring some listeners to tears, Lily’s vocals are a very powerful tool and if she can get the right lyrics with her vocals then it will become something pretty special, she does that with this song and It’s another solid track. 7.5/10

Track 8: Broken Glass
This track is a complete infusion of music, guitars, drums, bass and keyboards create the perfect setting from this track and it’s theme of being lonely in a relationship is again relatable and it is another anthem for her teenage fanbase. Again her vocals are almost perfect, creating an operatic feel to the song, hitting the notes almost perfectly and the bass line throughout enhances this song. Another very good effort and it shows another side to Lily’s music and her ability to infuse various different sounds. 7/10

Track 9: War
Another change of pace with this song as the drums seem to beat even louder than before. Lily unleashes herself on this song, providing a lot of anger and frustration with her vocals, screaming at some parts in an attempt to get her feelings across. It’s a song about the modern day world, how we’re frustrated at everything from government lies and people fighting with each other, kids being killed and the fact that the world isn’t safe anymore. It’s a different kind of theme but Lily is more than willing to sing about it a tricky subject and it provides another standout track and it sets the album up for a whirlwind ending. 7.5/10

Track 10: Another Day Is Over
The final song from the album is quite possibly the darkest and spookiest track on here. It’s eerie music are perfectly matched by Lily’s haunted voice on the track as she sings about hurt and pain and sings from the heart with this. Her lyrics are at a very high standard and it’s almost like this song follows on from the previous song however it’s not definable and could have various different interpretations which make it relatable to pretty much anyone. Lily hit’s the highs once more on this song and vocally it’s one of the best tracks on the album. 7.5/10

Overall Analysis
So this is an extremely interesting and is a pretty unique record, it has it’s highs and it has it’s lows but as a whole it’s more positive than negative and the fact that it’s a debut record makes it even more great.
The different theme’s throughout are enough to keep us entertained and her vocals are always of a high standard all the way through the album, with a little experience and time then I think she will go on to bigger and better things and I can definitely see Lily creating a magnum opus of a record in the near future. Lily blends many emotions on this record which makes it relatable to almost everyone, anger, fear, love, happiness, confusion and many more make this a record that should be in your collection and if you’re a teenager, then you have no excuse to not have this record, go out and buy it, because it will be the soundtrack to your life for many years to come.
For a debut record and for her vocal consistency I give this record an 8/10.

Reviewed By: Jake Wilson