LEA SANTEE is an Austrian two-piece specializing in electronic-pop, and though members Lea Stöger (vocals) and Manuel Hosp (production) have a pretty impressive catalog of sound for what little attention they've seemed to accrue through such efforts (and others), we think if their two latest tracks, "Dreams" and "Open Water" (here in reversed order), are cast correctly out into the public, the two will see the kind of success they're so close to receiving. Our beliefs are based in part by the soft, accessible aesthetic the two express (they don't seem intent on shrouding themselves in the kind of mystique that so many modern artists do), and, of course, on the pop-swirling sound they convey so freshly on the aforementioned tracks. To be sure, both "Dreams" and "Open Water" make use of spectacular, electronically underpinned instrumentations to stage Lea's spirited inflections—and it flourishes as a result. Now, we're not about to compare her tone to that of the vocalists taking the world by storm right now, but she can certainly hold her own in that regard. Manuel's sonic supplementation makes her presence strong, anyway, and together as the duo they are, they manage a pretty, ready-to-rise sound we think will inevitably take off.
Lea Santee