The debut, self-titled release from Toronto’s Metz is a short, heavy affair that pleasantly reminds me that back in the late 80s and early 90s, Sub Pop used to pump out this sort of stuff on the reg. Continue reading “METZ – METZ”
METZ – METZ
Son Lux – We Are Rising
The world seems to expand like breath in a bubble with the first note of Son Lux’s sophomore album. The nine songs on here have a frenetic back story – We Are Rising was conceived as a response to the RPM Challenge to produce an album in a mere 28 days – but in fact, it couldn’t sound any more polished. On the first track “Flickers,” gates creak open into a huge expanse of crystal music notes and a voice fluttering like a flag. Ryan Lott’s classical training and clear voice make this sound like an unsentimental walk to the altar – if there ever was one. It’s bare, measured, yet unbelievably passionate in the intricacy of its details. I could take a stab at labelling this… classical witch house? But really, Son Lux’s sound is something completely of its own. Trumpets and waving sighs accompany “All the Right Things” hip-hop throb. “Claws” is excellently fuzzy and heavy. So yes, Lott’s got range, but through this there’s a distinct peacefulness on every track that stems not from lack of sound but from the feeling that he definitely knows where he’s going and is getting there at the right pace. And even though the lyrics of “Let Go” consist of the same two words repeated 120 times, it’s far from boring: it’s hypnotic, with a curiously heart-pumping mixture of club-like beats and forest piping. All this sound rushes into a peak that makes you feel like a kitten being picked up by the skin of its neck and paralyzed by pleasure. Is there anything else you could ask for? (Anticon, www.anticon.com) Adrienne Yeung