“I’ve never heard anybody describe my songs as sweet or romantic” Texas born singer/songwriter Leyla Fences says when asked to describe her music. She hesitates before grinning and adding “but then again, no one’s ever called ME that either!”

Leyla’s debut album Liars, Cheats & Fools presents traditional country music fans 13 original tracks of self-penned dancing, drinking and cheating songs with Texas flavor, modern lyrics, sonic production and sassy wit. Never sweet, rarely romantic and always fun, Leyla’s songs hook you immediately with her smart style, bold personality and “a sense of humor kin to the songs of Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton and Gretchen Wilson.” - Kaye Wright of Kaye G. Wright Studios in Dallas.

On Liars, Cheats & Fools not even the songwriter herself is immune to her say-it-like-it-is commentary and the more you listen, the more you’ll hear. “Fans of great female-offered country music will enjoy the disc and will revel in the fresh subject matter” writes Lucky Boyd of MyTexasMusic.Com. No doubt Leyla is a “woman’s woman” Boyd adds and Kaye Wright agrees: “There are a lot of women who relate to these lyrics and, while they might not be able to find the words to say what they are feeling for themselves, they can trust Leyla’s songs to say it for them.” But even though women might be Leyla’s biggest fans, they aren’t her only fans. “Anyone who likes good music and is partial to country is going to enjoy this album,” says Chip Butters, Owner & Chief Engineer, ButterSound, Seattle.

With a steel guitar and fiddle on almost every song, this CD will remind you of country music the way it used to be. “I found myself listening to today’s mainstream country and feeling two things,” says Leyla, “one, that it didn’t sound like country music anymore and two, that even though songs today might still portray everyday life, it’s mostly only the happy, picture-perfect parts. I sure wasn’t hearing songs that I could relate to based on what I was living at the time so I decided to write about those experiences – even though they didn’t all have fairy tale endings.”

“The performances on the disc are exceptional” says Boyd as Leyla manages to convey real human emotion whether she is calling a spade a spade (as in the tracks Love Doesn’t Work Like That and Let Him Go) or honoring the strength of the human spirit (like in The Net or The Other Side). Vocally she gets it right too with a voice that is “Texas-raised country, edgy but true, powerful but controlled, and perfect for her style of writing” Boyd adds. “Leyla’s music is 100% genuine,” writes Andrea Wallace of 288 Vocals, “and with a voice and style that are uniquely hers, she tells stories of everyday struggles and encourages us to live each day to its fullest.”

Always danceable and never pretentious, the clean sound of these original tunes lets every word and note be heard while tasteful production allows listeners to get the same great connection with the songs that her live audiences enjoy. Liars, Cheats & Fools is a “... mature-sounding line between classic Nashville country & modern sonic production and lyrics” says Butters.

Leyla’s journey to this first CD has been anything but a straight line. Although she experienced a typical Texas suburban upbringing, as a middle-child born under the sign of the bull she was happiest when she was stirring things up so she took off from home earlier than most and set out to explore the world’s wider pastures. Her zigzag has taken her around the world from foreign language and culinary studies in the U.S. and abroad to climbing the corporate ladder in Latin America and Europe. With her wanderlust satisfied, her career aspirations realized and a newfound understanding that everything she was looking for could be found at home, Leyla returned to Texas soil where her love for traditional country music began and where she plans on kicking up some dust. - Boudreau Freret

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