Le Ren - “May Hard Times Pass Us By”

SXSW 2023 - OEB Score: 7; Popularity Index: 4

Pairs Well With…Joni Mitchell, Nick Drake, Skullcrusher

Beautiful and raw, Le Ren gets to the root of folk music, letting each voice quiver or picked guitar string ring out with patience and grace. She keeps it to basically that on her debut Leftovers, a record that resonates through Le Ren’s loving, vulnerable songwriting and sweetly pretty vocals. While quiet and minimal, Leftovers is quite lush, never begging for more given her heart-to-ear performance. It’s a mature and timeless sound, one that should hush crowds at SXSW as Le Ren performs at a variety of venues this year, none better than Central Presbyterian Church on Tuesday night for Distance Management, right in between fellow recommended artists The Ophelias and SOAK. (Kevin McStravick)