“Flavored with the kind of sweetened melancholy that will warm your broken heart and fill it with hope”
– Holler Country
Gina Leslie is searching for truth and beauty in New Orleans. Her debut LP “I Love You Always No Matter What Happens,” out June 5th, comes as a guidebook to times of loss, uncertainty and change. This 10 song lush collection of songs serves as a suit and armor for the inner child, an olive branch, a warm embrace. A follow up to her cult-classic heartbreak EP “No, You’re Crying”, these songs beckon the listener through an internal journey, leaving an aftertaste of psychedelic peacefullness. Recorded in a basement studio with co-producer and musical kin Nat Smith, this album showcases tender and timeless songwriting and delivery - bangers and bops, ballads and anthems for the ages.
Gina’s sensitivity and versatility has led her to be a highly sought after collaborator and side musician, touring and recording with countless artists including Bella White, Sabine McCalla, and Esther Rose.
“Once, sitting in the passenger seat of my mini van, in the parking lot of a Vietnamese bakery, Gina Leslie looked at me over the tired circles beneath her eyes and said “I’m always the last one to leave the party”
Gina goes gently through her world with open arms, a quality that has lead to her role as a mainstay collaborator in the New Orleans Americana scene [Bella White, Sabine McCalla, Esther Rose] as well as her role as an encouraging mentor to countless aspiring songsters who stand at the edge of the campfire.
However, like all those who give as Gina does, something is eventually taken from them. A life well lived cannot be permanent, nor can it be always protected. Luckily, Gina has given us “I love you always no matter what happens” as a guidebook to times of loss, uncertainty and doubt. To be clear, Gina is not licking her wounds here. Instead, she shows us the courage of being fallible, and accepting our flaws as fate rather than striving for perfection, if such a thing existed. I have lived next door to Gina for the five years that this album scratched its way to the surface, which has allowed me an ear to the wall perspective of its creation.
Songs like “Trish” bled through her piano for hours on end, wresting with insecurities and self loathing only to emerge with the quiet strength to shatter the armor of several tough guys. “Sugar water” flowed through the halls, leaving behind echoes of clear and caring love as she stepped from the front porch into her many adventures. Her kitchen was seldom without good company as she hummed a new tune over a homemade sauce on the stove. Always tinkering and turning over new creations with her close collaborators like Elise Levy, she caught new anthems like “never turn your back on the ocean”
All in all, I can say with certainty that Gina Leslie’s relationship to song is not one of flirtation, but of a long and lasting marriage, full of trials and triumphs. Here’s to the happy couple. I love you always, no matter what happens.
– Sam Gelband
