Lauran Hibberd | Garageband Superstar Review

Lauran Hibberd is an English singer-songwriter from the Isle of Wight. Starting in 2018, with her single “Call Shotgun,” Hibberd has been releasing music and gaining momentum with her blend of pop-rock. Hibberd says, “have since then released a bunch of singles, a debut EP, and am about to release a second EP (recorded with LA producer ‘Suzy Shinn’) whilst recording my debut album. I’ve been lucky enough to tour with Hippo Campus and The Regrettes around the UK and Europe, play some bucket-list festivals (GLASTONBURY), and sell out my own headline tours. Lockdown has stopped everything ‘live’ in its tracks, so having the time to write songs 24/7 has definitely become my only love right now. I wrote a song a day for six weeks straight last year as some whacky experiment, and I’m pretty sure I got the bulk of my album from being in that headspace. Basically, I am on a mission to get Rivers Cuomo to fall in love with me.” Hibberd is now releasing her debut album Garageband Superstar. Besides being available on all digital outlets, the album comes exclusively pressed to animated zoetrope picture disc via Blood Records. Featuring psych-videos of her dog ‘Jango,’ the zoetrope comes signed by Lauren, hand-numbered to order, and limited to 500 copies.

“Still Running (5K)” has a very repetitive melody that combines a rock feel with a rap-influenced theme with a flowing bridge to offset the choppy verses. This play of styles is Hibberd’s secret weapon; she has the ability to combine many types of today’s music into her own brand of indie rock. Speaking of rock, the guitar part is very nice and an essential element of the song’s appeal. In addition, the various counterpoint lines during the last sections of the song are charming.

“That Was A Joke” is centered around a groovy riff and a tongue-in-cheek set of lyrics. This style of music is where Hibbard shines. Her vocals sound complete and balanced in this setting. Her sustain is pleasant, and the sliding into notes is done with control and style. The song form has multiple parts and builds appeal as the different sounds and concentrations unfold to yield a robust musical journey.

Garageband Superstar falls somewhere between pop-rock and pop-punk. Hibbard is undoubtedly loaded with creativity, choosing to create music from a space of self-acceptance—a recognition that who we once were is just the context for whom we’ve become. In some ways, this teetering of musical ambiguity is the album’s essential spirit.

Lauran Hibberd: Website