Son Lux, "At War with Walls & Mazes"
Son Lux, otherwise known as Ryan Lott, hails originally from Denver and is now based in New York. Here he presents us with his debut CD of 11 exquisitely styled and crafted slow-burn songs, a pleasing marriage of lean classicalism with trip- and hip-hop beats, and the whole flavored with a distinctly otherworldly ambience. Only three months into 2008 and I have already come across a possible contender for best of year.
Lott possesses a distinctly breathily and cracklingly fragile voice, a voice which constantly threatens to shatter into crystalline shards as piercingly bright and sharp as ice glinting in sunlight, but which simultaneously, and thankfully, avoids descending into cloying sentimentality or nauseating self-pity. Set against the deliciously languorous 3am-in-the-morning backing vibe, consisting of piano, organ drones, strings, woodwind, bass, and counterpointed by those apparently contradictory beats, that voice sends a frisson of delight coursing up and down the spine which is made even more exquisite by lyrical friction. There's something appealingly dangerous about a voice that could potentially break hearts intoning the words "You will betray me baby / I will be true..," or "You stand between me and all my enemies." That frictional tension is quite startling and sharp in places, for instance in the track that contains that first set of lyrics mentioned above. "Betray," which, although driven by a quietly upbeat rhythm supported by an equally funky bass-line, produces sparks when those same lyrics, delivered in that plaintive hallmark style, rub up against the walls and mazes created by the backing. Lott's voice is particularly effective when a solo piano hauntingly echoes the pitch and timbre of his delivery, as on “Raise,” or sets itself up against the quiet drones, electric piano, and sawed strings of "Tell," where the ethereality and emotion-laden qualities of Lott's vocal range are given full rein.
Like most good stories though, the tale is one of contrast and chiaroscuro. Lott travels from one style to another with an enviable and accustomed ease, as if he owns each of them and made them his own, ranging from chamber to hip-hop and everything in between; in the process managing to create a set of near-perfect 'pop' songs to boot. Jumping from a breezy soulfulness to a razor-sharp regret, and from an almost jaunty elevated and unlooked for hopefulness to a state of painful awareness that things haven't quite gone according to plan, he covers the whole spectrum with both a confidence and a surety that many would give their immortal soul for. Furthermore, it all sounds natural and easy, to the point that it is almost the correct prescription. Any other approach would have been doomed to failure. I find that an astonishing, and delightful, feat, especially so in these days of manufactured and slickly-packaged mainstream musical pap. While it will justifiably gather around it a coterie of admirers, I find it a pity that its constituency won't be as broad as it manifestly deserves.
On a personal level, the beauty of Lott's debut opus lies in the very stylistic and emotional ranges that he exhibits so confidently and in such an accomplished manner. I guess it must be easy enough to release an album displaying a collection of stylistic variations in an effort to establish musical credentials; it must be a completely different proposition when it comes to integrating everything into a seamless whole that not only flows but veritably shines. I would venture to guess that Lott's attempts at audio-alchemy have succeeded admirably.
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