"Curious Tourist opens with the magnificent Nowhere Girl, a song the artist describes as a piece of nouveau-shoegaze’, a genre Callahan played within the mid-00s with her band The Glass Set, and which she confesses was ubiquitous in her musical upbringing. What struck me about Nowhere Girl is the way it opens with a warm swell of instrumentation, not unlike Flaming Lips, inviting you into the record and beginning the journey you will be on for the next 45 minutes."
Louder Than War
louderthanwar.com/leah-callahan-curious-tourist-album-review/
"Callahan’s voice has already been compared to a female Morrissey, whilst the flange reverberations and chimes of Johnny Marr’s guitar riffs can be heard ringing out across a number of the tracks on the newest album. But I also detect more modern echoes of the Sparrow & The Workshop’s Jill O’ Sullivan and a touch of LoveLikeFire. However, every track seems to take a different turn from the one before; from the cathedral organ intro that soon turns into an indie anthem of languid yearned vocals and strings – evoking both Lush and Echobelly – ‘Nowhere Girl’, to the indie-country espionage merger of Howling Bells, Interpol and Blondie ‘No One’."
Monolith Cocktail
monolithcocktail.com/2024/04/17/the-digest-for-april-2024-new-music-in-brief-the-social-playlist-archives/
"The opening track “Nowhere Girl” is a hooky tour-de force, traversing through a delectable soundscape that varies between elongated shoegaze-friendly guitar lines and post-punk bass thumping. “But being found really wasn’t your thing,” Callahan’s lush vocals let out as the textured guitar enter, making for a replay-inducing moment on an album full of many. The band Lush is noted as an influence for the track; Callahan and Providence native Chris Stern (The Sterns) bonded over a mutual love for that act, and Stern’s talents show on this album as well, marking their first collaboration."
Obscure Sound
www.obscuresound.com/2024/05/leah-callahan-curious-tourist/
"“Nowhere Girl” is a potential chart-botherer, all gloss and sophistication, chiming textures and svelt tones. On reflection, its charms would probably go over the average pop-picker’s head, but that is their loss."
Big Takeover
bigtakeover.com/recordings/leah-callahan-curious-tourist-self-released
"The opening track, "Nowhere Girl," establishes the recurring themes of ostracism and ambition that play out throughout the collection. "You didn’t care / About what they all thought of you / They made you promise you'd get somewhere." Thankfully, the weighty subject is served alongside soaring guitar lines, key arpeggios, and dulcet vocals. It's reminiscent of The Beautiful South's easy-going but high-brow guitar-based pop."
No Transmission
www.notransmission.com/2024/04/leah-callahan-curious-tourist-album.html