Son Lux - Lanterns
Within the grit of honesty is something rather beautiful, even if that something first appears rather chilling. For it’s the way in which the darkness marries the light that makes us see the brilliance of our world, as contrast translates the difference between good and evil while providing us the definition we need to gather meaning from all that we experience. It’s this marriage of light and dark that makes life so fascinating, so endlessly exciting and unpredictable.
The same could be said of Ryan Loft's music as Son Lux, especially with the new album, Lanterns. While raw honesty and crushing intimacy can be rather rousing in their own right, they become something else entirely when lifted up on the shoulders of monumental soundscapes, ones that swirl and crash like the sea and gracefully climb through the air like a breath of smoke from the flames of a fire. On Lanterns, Loft conducts an eerie, breathtaking, gorgeous symphony of synthesizers, woodwinds, brass, guitars, strings, piano, and more in such a magical manner that it’s hard not to feel far removed from reality as you listen.
But therein lies Loft’s genius as a composer and producer: he’s a master of wrapping reality in the atmosphere fantasy. Songs like “Alternate World,” “Ransom,” and “Plan the Escape” sound almost like a heavier, more enrapturing live-action version of “Fantasia,” covering ground on things such as moving on, healing, and hope to keep the album grounded and free from winding up as just an aimless, dreamy statement. Lanterns is a marvelously evocative journey that warrants return visits.
Lanterns is out today via Joyful Noise Recordings.
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