Erin LeCount – ‘Pareidolia’ EP review: The new poster child for the power of DIY freedom
Erin LeCount is making songs in her garden shed that rival, and better, the biggest titans of her industry – and her new EP, Pareidolia, is proof.
The Skinny: There is so much to be taken from Erin LeCount’s new EP. This isn’t her debut; in fact, this is her third EP, but spiritually, it feels like her grand opening. 2025’s I Am Digital, I Am Divine felt like her rebirth, like LeCount emerging from the nest she’d made of the home studio in her garden shed, clutching bright and shiny tunes of immense promise. But on Pareidolia, there is absolutely nothing shy or fearful or nervous as LeCount makes a five-track, golden run bid for complete pop stardom.
These are songs to fill stadiums, as the production scale here is huge. It’s so huge that it seems to burst at the seams, showing her readiness for a full-length release. Plenty of acts will work their entire career to make a tune as polished as ‘I Believe’ or ‘Don’t You See Me Trying’, but as LeCount shares her perma-student ethos, devoting herself to always working to improve her production skills, there is always the exciting possibility there of what she might learn to do next and what that might lead to.
Because the second LeCount decided to take full control of her music, it became great. She was always good before, especially vocally, as she landed on The Voice as a child. But just as she sings of on ‘American Dream’, she didn’t want to be a pretty face with a pretty voice being treated like a doll. Instead, she wanted to be a full and well-rounded artist with complete control, seeing how much that empowered her idols and wanting it for herself.
The impact of that control is everywhere here, especially in LeCount’s own heartbeat that can be heard across the project in the mix, from providing the thumping, panicked beat of ‘808 Hymn’, a song about being followed home at night, to the slow, heartbroken devastation of ‘Alice’, her gut-wrenching reflection on competitive eating disorders and sickness. The freedom allows her those decisions and more, leading to a project where every song feels thorough, like its own little movie.
If there had to be any one singular issue in the project, it is simply that fans begged for more of it to be released. However, who can blame them when each delivery has granted them something new from high-octane chases, a ballad about disassociation, a thundering pop song about God and beyond. And really, it’s no issue at all when there is so much to a LeCount song that you could have one on repeat for years and likely still be finding new layers of intrigue in the mix.
The Verdict: LeCount should be the poster child for the power of DIY and the payoff of being devoted to working on your art. She should also be the poster child for the excitement and intrigue of pop and the skill and craftsmanship that goes into the genre that all too often is shrugged off and put down.
Standout track: ‘I Believe’
Release date: February 27th, 2026 | Producer: Erin LeCount | Label: Atlantic Records
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