Indie-pop singer/songwriter Ada Lea (born Alexandra Levy) asserts her artistry anew on “One Hand On The Steering Wheel The Other Sewing A Garden” ,the impressive follow-up to her 2019 debut “What We Say In Private”. Set in Levy’s native Montreal, the album looks back on personal moments from the artist’s coming of age in the city, using delicate, carefully crafted guitar pop and folk to connect her memories to a wider collective consciousness. “Every year is just a little bit darker / Then the darker gets darker / Then it’s dark as hell,” Levy sings on hooky album opener “damn,” the unflinching observation letting a bit more light into the world.
Levy wrote and demoed one hand on the steering wheel during an artist residency in Banff, Alberta, reuniting with her “Woman, Here” EP (2020) collaborator Marshall Vore (Phoebe Bridgers) to round the album into form. Drummer Tasy Hudson, guitarist Harrison Whitford (of Bridgers’ band) and mixing engineer Burke Reid (Courtney Barnett) also lent their talents to the project.
