Lenka (album)

Lenka
Studio album by
Lenka
Released23 September 2008
Recorded2008
Length38:42
LabelEpic
Producer
Lenka chronology
Lenka
(2008) 		Two
(2011)
Singles from Lenka
  1. "The Show"
    Released: 6 September 2008
  2. "Trouble Is a Friend"
    Released: 1 September 2009

Lenka is the debut studio album by Australian recording artist Lenka. It was released on 23 September 2008 by Epic Records. Produced by John Alagía, Mike Elizondo, Pierre Marchand, Stuart Brawley, and Jason Lader, it topped the Billboard Heatseekers and Pacific & South Atlantic charts.

The album's lead single, "The Show," was moderately successful, peaking at number 25 on the Billboard Adult Pop Songs chart. The second single, "Trouble Is a Friend," had less success, reaching number 65 on the German Singles Chart. AllMusic's Andrew Leahey praised Lenka as one of 2008's strongest newcomers, highlighting her vocal ability, songwriting, and catchy melodies, while noting the album's playful yet polished nature.

Singles

"The Show" was released to digital retailers on 6 September 2008 as the album's lead single,[1] and released on 15 June 2009 officially.[2] The song had moderate success, peaking at number 25 on the US Billboard Adult Pop Songs chart,[3] and at number 65 on the ARIA Singles Chart in Australia.[4] "Trouble Is a Friend" was released to digital retailers as the album's second and final single on 1 September 2009.[5] It failed to match the success of its predecessor, peaking at number 65 on the German Singles Chart.[6]

Composition

Lenka is enriched by a varied instrumental palette, with horns, cellos, violas, keyboards, and vibraphones given "equal space", resulting in a sound that feels both lush and bubbly.[7] Lyrically, the album leans toward simple, universal reflections, sometimes downbeat observations such as the contemplative tone of "The Show" and the self-questioning mood of "Everything I'm Not".[8] According to BBC, the lyrics focus on Lenka as a "bemused young lady in today's fast moving world", which emphasizes everyday imagery and affirmations rather than "any great revelations" with recurring references to a "big bad world" and statements of personal identity.[9]

Music and lyrics

The albums opener "The Show" is described as "relentlessly cheerful" song[10] that brims with "cleverly crafted hooks", with Lenka's internal rhymes and playful delivery helping the songs register as "pure radio gold".[7] "Bring Me Down" incorporates more sassy in tone, as it opens with a "choir of Lenkas" and features a "badly whistled interlude" likened to Noah and the Whale's "5 Years Time".[9] "Skipalong" contains a "nursery rhyme appeal" paired with an "almost Britpoppy melody", complementing its carefree lyrical tone.[8] "Don't Let Me Fall" is noted for Lenka's "breathy sighs",[7] and sets Lenka's "fragile voice" against a marching-band tempo.[11] "Trouble Is a Friend" features "thrumming piano motif" that functions as a menacing undertow beneath the song's pop structure,[11] and is noted for verses that are "brooding enough to engage you fully".[8] "Like a Song", characterized as "tiny and tender",[11] features "quiet piano chords and a sparse trumpet riff"[7] and elevates Lenka "from being a cute girly singer to an actual artist", described as "drumless and expansive" with an "expectant stillness" created by vibes, synthetic strings, and oboe supporting a French-styled melody.[9] It also illustrates how Lenka "still shines when the thick instrumental padding is stripped away".[7]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[7]
The Daily Telegraph[10]
Digital Spy[8]
Entertainment WeeklyB[12]
The Guardian[11]
MusicOMH[13]

Lenka received genereally mixed reviews from music critics. In the positive reviews, AllMusic review by Andrew Leahey highlights Lenka's debut album as a standout in 2008, calling her one of the year's strongest newcomers.[7] BBC Music described the record's lyrics as light and observational rather than revelatory, often built around simple affirmations such as "I will always be me". While noting its strong "radio friendliness", they suggested that the album's persistent sweetness could feel cloying over a full listen, even as it hinted at "plenty of promise" beneath the surface.[9] Caroline Sullivan's review for The Guardian highlights that while Lenka's solo debut doesn's fully set her apart from other breathy-voiced chanteuses like Sia and Jem, it leans more toward pop than they do.[11]

In the negative reviews, Mayer Nissim of Digital Spy described the album as "assured, expensive and well put together" but felt that it faltered in its songwriting, lacking the "quirky charm" needed to stand out.[8] John Murphy of MusicOMH also argued that the songs were "not strong enough to stretch over an album", ultimately calling the record "too bland and stodgy to hold any lasting appeal".[13]

Commercial performance

Lenka peaked at number 4 on the Polish Albums chart,[14] while reaching number 30 in Austria,[15] number 48 in Switzerland,[16] and number 58 on the UK Albums Chart.[17] In the United States, it entered the Billboard 200 at number 142.[18] In Heatseekers chart, it peaked at number 3 overall[18] and reached the top position in the Pacific and South Atlantic regional Heatseekers charts.[19][20]

Track listing

Lenka – standard edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."The Show"
Stuart Brawley3:56
2."Bring Me Down"
  • Kripac
  • Brawley
Stuart Brawley3:29
3."Skipalong"
Pierre Marchand3:53
4."Don't Let Me Fall"
Mike Elizondo2:51
5."Anything I'm Not"KripacMarchand3:18
6."Knock Knock"
John Alagía3:41
7."Dangerous and Sweet"
Elizondo3:32
8."Trouble Is a Friend"
  • Kripac
  • Salter
Elizondo3:36
9."Live Like You're Dying"KripacJason Lader3:49
10."Like a Song"KripacMarchand3:20
11."We Will Not Grow Old"
  • Kripac
  • Burns
  • Mohler
Elizondo3:18
Total length:38:42
Lenka – iTunes Store edition[21]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
12."Force of Nature"
Mike Elizondo3:33
Total length:42:15
Lenka – expanded edition[22]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
13."Trouble Is a Friend (Acoustic Version)"
3:43
14."Gravity Rides Everything (Woodstock Session Version)"
  • Vivian Green
  • Buddy Broc
  • Eric Judy
3:52
15."Anything I'm Not (Woodstock Session Version)"Kripac3:39
16."Vincent O'Brien (Woodstock Session Version)"Matthew Ward2:49
17."We Will Not Grow Old (Woodstock Session Version)"
  • Kripac
  • Billy Mohler
  • Dylan Burns
3:29
Total length:58:27

Personnel

Credits were adapted from Barnes & Noble.[23]

Performance credits

Technical credits

Charts

Chart Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[15] 30
Polish Albums (ZPAV)[14] 4
South Korean International Albums (Circle)[24] 98
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[16] 48
UK Albums (OCC)[17] 58
US Billboard 200[18] 142
US Heatseekers (Billboard)[18] 3

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Poland (ZPAV)[25] Gold 10,000*

* Sales figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ "New Releases Singles - Week Commencing 17th November 2008" (PDF). ARIA Charts. 17 November 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 November 2008. Retrieved 5 February 2010.
  2. ^ "Columbia Records UK – Lenka - Lenka". Columbia Records. 29 June 2009. Archived from the original on 25 August 2009. Retrieved 6 August 2009.
  3. ^ "Lenka Chart History". Billboard. Archived from the original on 21 November 2021.
  4. ^ "ARIA Top 100 Singles - Week Commencing 10th November 2008" (PDF). ARIA Charts. Australian Recording Industry Association Ltd. 10 November 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 November 2008. Retrieved 5 February 2010.
  5. ^ "Trouble Is a Friend - Single". Lenka. United States: iTunes Store. 1 September 2009. Archived from the original on 28 February 2015. Retrieved 5 February 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  6. ^ "Lenka - Trouble Is A Friend - Music Charts". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on 5 February 2015. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Leahey, Andrew. "Review: Lenka". Allmusic. Archived from the original on 20 March 2023. Retrieved 6 August 2009.
  8. ^ a b c d e Nissim, Mayer (29 June 2009). "Album Review - Lenka: Lenka". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 5 September 2009. Retrieved 22 September 2009.
  9. ^ a b c d Davies, Lucy. "Review of Lenka - Lenka". BBC. Archived from the original on 12 February 2011. Retrieved 22 September 2009.
  10. ^ a b McCormick, Neil (1 July 2009). "Review: Lenka". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 April 2018. Retrieved 6 August 2009.
  11. ^ a b c d e Sullivan, Caroline (26 June 2009). "Review: Lenka". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 18 April 2019. Retrieved 6 August 2009.
  12. ^ Day, Adrienne (16 September 2008). "Review: Lenka". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 13 August 2009. Retrieved 6 August 2009.
  13. ^ a b Murphy, John (29 June 2009). "Lenka - Lenka | album reviews". MusicOMH. Archived from the original on 27 December 2009. Retrieved 22 September 2009.
  14. ^ a b "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. 24 May 2009. Archived from the original on 4 August 2012. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
  15. ^ a b Steffen Hung. "Lenka - Lenka". austriancharts.at. Archived from the original on 2 November 2012. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
  16. ^ a b Steffen Hung. "Lenka - Lenka". hitparade.ch. Archived from the original on 10 November 2012. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
  17. ^ a b "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
  18. ^ a b c d Lenka at AllMusic. Retrieved 29 March 2025.
  19. ^ "Heatseekers - Pacific". Billboard. 27 September 2008. Archived from the original on 19 May 2018. Retrieved 23 September 2008.
  20. ^ "Heatseekers - South Atlantic". Billboard. 27 September 2008. Archived from the original on 19 May 2018. Retrieved 23 September 2008.
  21. ^ "Lenka". Lenka. United States: iTunes Store. Archived from the original on 3 May 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  22. ^ "Lenka (Expanded Edition)". Lenka. Apple Music. 23 September 2008. Archived from the original on 17 November 2020. Retrieved 13 April 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  23. ^ "Lenka by Epic, Lenka - Barnes & Noble". Barnes & Noble. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  24. ^ "Circle Chart". circlechart.kr. 14 May 2011. Retrieved 20 December 2025.
  25. ^ "Wyróżnienia – Złote płyty CD - Archiwum - Przyznane w 2009 roku" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Archived from the original on 26 November 2024.
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