One of the best bands operating on these shores today, La Luz continue to amaze. Their music is a neat blending of multiple genres, with the lyrical passages gently and consistently nudged along by the haunting ones. The group's newest record, the self-titled La Luz, is out tomorrow via Hardly Art, and it's another winner. The dilemma for a critic is how to write about this without simply just raving unabashedly.
Once again Shana Cleveland marries the blissed-out sway of material such as "Watching Cartoons" with the spry, surf guitar-infused stuff this band's become known for. "The Pines" is the lead single here on La Luz and I defy you not to get that song buried in your head immediately after one play. "Oh, Blue" is lovely too, even as it gently edges into simpler territory. Bassist Lena Simon and keyboardist Alice Sandahl add additional texture and backing vocals, rendering all of this, especially the elegant "Here on Earth", magic. There's really no other band who sound like this, and one can only marvel at how pefectly realized this whole vibe remains, and how expertly Cleveland and crew continue to refine it.
The record sounds slightly crisper than previous ones, but no less full of subtle wonder. And the presence of producer Adrian Younge is likely to generate press but offer no proof of a real change in what makes La Luz so good. The yearning "Goodbye Ghost", for example, succeeds nearly as much thanks to Shana's cooing lead as it does to the percolations of the rhythm section here, heavy with a nice throwback charm. Elsewhere, "Metal Man" is a trifle, but one which pops with intent, the addition of keyboards and bells in the background adding depth to things. Cleveland and team are still making tunes that seem nearly hypnotic. They seem such simple compositions, really, but attentive listeners should marvel at Shana's guitar-playing, as on earlier releases. What's linear and direct here is shadowed by musical patterns and figures that retain a mystery that's so special it verges on the precious. However, the pep in the guitar hooks throughout La Luz is enough to render this album's music more powerful than it is rarefied, such that I defy anyone to call this dream-pop. It's dreamy, and it's pop of a sort, but it's so much more than that, languid as it can be at times here on planet La Luz.
La Luz is out on Friday via Hardly Art.
More details on La Luz via the band's official Facebook page.
[Photo: Pooneh Ghana]