AVA RENN - LIGHTNING CHILD
Capturing the electrifying, unflinching and sense of feeling alive, Ava Renn’s debut album, Lightning Child, is exactly what it promises.
Across its ten tracks, Renn fuses rock grit, alt-pop immediacy, and raw emotional candour, crafting a sound that is both primal and intimate. From dirty, distorted guitars to tender ballads, every moment pulses with intention, leaving the listener breathless, exhilarated, and unsettled, in the best possible way.
Renn’s lyrical perspective carries a rare blend of lived-in grit and reflective vulnerability and a present narrative depth. There’s a sense of urgency and authenticity to her voice: she doesn’t merely perform these songs; she embodies them, each lyric hitting like a heartbeat. After a transformative journey across Texas, Renn returned to the high desert to record the album in an intense, nine-day session with a five-piece band. That immediacy and concentrated creative energy are palpable on every track.
The album opens with ‘Hands’, a sultry and unpredictable track that navigates the bitter, shifting stages of post-relationship grief. From the first chords, Renn draws the listener into a space both seductive and jagged, a sonic mirror to the emotional turmoil of heartbreak. The song’s bipolar structure, oscillating between bruised vulnerability and fiery assertiveness, sets the tone for the album: nothing is tidy, nothing is predictable, but everything feels urgent and alive.
‘Dog Eyes’ marks a tonal shift, stepping into a funk-infused, animalistic groove that radiates personal power. Renn’s vocal delivery here is playful yet commanding, her lyrics exuding self-possession and defiance. It’s a statement of reclamation, a track that balances rawness with a sense of liberation, and signals the listener’s entry into Renn’s bold, self-aware world.
Shoegaze influences surface on ‘None the Wiser’, a reflective track that examines the cyclical nature of harmful patterns in relationships. Layers of shimmering guitars and ethereal reverb create a spacious backdrop for Renn’s incisive lyrics, capturing the tension between introspection and the inevitability of human error. In this way, the album marries sonic texture with narrative sophistication, inviting the listener to both feel and think.
‘The Wind Chimes’ is a quieter, meditative interlude, exploring the complexities of relationships never fully understood. Renn’s voice floats atop minimalist instrumentation, delivering a poignant reflection that is as haunting as it is relatable. This song highlights her ability to craft intimacy without sacrificing the album’s emotional intensity, providing contrast that enhances the record’s dynamic arc.
Tracks like ‘See What I’ve Seen’ and ‘6’s to 7’s’ showcase Renn’s feral, rock-driven energy. ‘See What I’ve Seen’ is a raw rocker, a preemptive defence of the inner child, while ‘6’s to 7’s’ explores the entrapments of desire and greed through dark, heavy riffs and taut percussion. Both tracks exemplify the album’s fearless willingness to confront difficult, sometimes uncomfortable emotional territory while remaining sonically thrilling.
Amid the grit, Lightning Child offers moments of gentle reflection. ‘Woman of the Wind’ and ‘Still Through it All’ stand as testaments to Renn’s poetic sensibility. The former is a soft, introspective journey toward self-acceptance after heartbreak, while the latter channels a bluesy intimacy with country-inflected undertones. Both songs reveal the depth of Renn’s songwriting: she can command a stage with aggression and then quietly break the listener’s heart with a whisper.
The album’s title track arrives as an unapologetic celebration of self-actualisation and fiery spirit. With driving guitars and soaring vocal melodies, Renn declares her autonomy and resilience, a musical declaration that is both empowering and exhilarating. The closing track, ‘The Clearing’, offers a haunting, piano-and-strings ballad that captures the silence and contemplation following loss. It’s a delicate, cinematic moment that allows the listener to exhale, reflecting on the emotional journey Renn has led them through.
Production by Doyle Odom and Renn herself ensures that the album balances raw energy with sonic clarity. The live-feel immediacy of the high-desert sessions comes through in the tight, aggressive instrumentation, while subtle studio flourishes, textured guitars, layered vocals, and atmospheric touches elevate the record beyond standard rock fare. Mastered by Brian Lucey gives the album a polished punch without erasing its primal vitality, letting Renn’s voice remain front and centre in every mix.
What makes Lightning Child remarkable is Renn’s ability to fuse disparate influences, The Kills’ primal urgency, PJ Harvey’s fire, and Fiona Apple’s intimate intensity into a sound that is entirely her own. She never feels derivative; instead, she channels these inspirations through a lens of lived experience, crafting songs that are unflinching, dynamic, and deeply human. There is an intentionality here, a sense that every riff, lyric, and silence exists for a reason.
In a debut album, it’s rare to encounter an artist with such a fully realised vision and fearless execution. Lightning Child is an audacious, emotionally expansive work that simultaneously thrills, provokes, and resonates. Ava Renn has emerged as a voice to watch, someone unafraid to confront pain, explore desire, and celebrate resilience with equal intensity. This is an album that doesn’t just demand attention; it commands it, leaving the listener shaken, exhilarated, and ready for whatever she does next.
Danielle Holian
★★★★☆
