When he's not running probably the best active label in the whole goddamn world, Luke Reilly records as Lucern Raze. In previous outings, like ones reviewed by me here a half-decade ago, Lucern Raze cranked out the sort of skewed garage pop that PNKSLM is known for. Now, in these lockdown days, Luke Reilly has fired up Lucern Raze again, enlisted a bunch of guest musicians, and set out to traipse through about a half-dozen genres and re-up the definition of the PNKSLM sound for the start of a new decade. International Breakdown drops today and it's a whole lot of fun, is what I'm trying to say.
"Let's Be Badder", featuring label-mates Cherry Pickles, is all negative vibes and surliness, while "Ain't No Time For That", one of the many collaborations with Bryson The Alien here, mixes elements of rock and hip hop in a way that recalls both MF Doom and Gorillaz. "Cabin Fever", with Black Mekon, sounds a bit like Chain & The Gang to me, while "Stockholm Syndrome 2" finds Reilly taking the retro rock of Chemtrails and adding beats and catchy backing vocals. It's an infectious bit of business, and one which recalls, for lack of a better point of comparison, stuff like Spookey Ruben and Pizzicato Five a bit.
There's a grab-bag quality to lots of International Breakdown, admittedly, but the album retains a focus thanks to its having been done during these quarantine months. If there's a sinister undertow to "Metaphysical Sacrifice", a song recorded with Swampmeat Family Band, that makes sense, no? These are odd times. And the vibe extends from that Royal Trux-recalling number to "Honey" and "Silver Ghosts, We Ride at Dawn", two bass-heavy gems here. These numbers exude both attitude and a hint of something unsavory, with the compositions sitting nicely next to the many others that feature artists from the PNKSLM arsenal. Overall, the mix of DIY rawk from Luke Reilly and the guest hip hop and indie-pop contributions all over this record make International Breakdown a rare beast, one that's part label-sampler and part super-group epic.
International Breakdown is out today digitally and on vinyl in July, I think, via PNKSLM.
More details on Lucern Raze via the official Facebook page.
[Photo: Lucern Raze Facebook page]