La Luz, It’s Alive (Oct. 15, Hardly Art, laluz.bandcamp.com) In the book world, the term “genre-slumming” denotes an author known for high literature trying her hand at something pulpier—a zombie novel, say, or a deep-space epic. Done correctly, the writer retains everything fun about the genre while applying enough of her writing chops to make it palatable to a refined audience. The phenomenon doesn’t really exist in music, probably because music journalists and record stores insist on neatly filing everyone into a genre to begin with, so to commit to one isn’t so much slumming as inevitable. Nonetheless, I kept coming back to this idea as I listened to La Luz’s first full-length LP, released this week on Hardly Art. If you haven’t caught any of the tremendous buzz around this Seattle four-piece, it’s been firmly filed under surf rock, and it plays it by the book. The trick is that lead vocalist Shana Cleveland doesn’t sing surf rock; from the opening track, her pitch-perfect, hushed, and haunting vocals render the band more substantial than merely an ironic nod to the bygone era of woodies and whammy bars. Not that it’s not ironic, or for that matter contrived: The craftsmanship of Cleveland’s melodies and lyrics on It’s Alive (“Somethings I think I wouldn’t mind/Crawling off into the ruins to die/What good am I/If I can’t say what’s on my mind”) is constantly winking at us, telling us that the band is in on the joke, turning a style of music hatched on carefree beaches into a vessel for far moodier material. Yet they never truly break character, delivering 11 songs of quick guitar licks heavily waa-waa’ed by one of those whammy bars. Whether you’ll find that tiresome will come down to how you feel about the Surfaris (“Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-a, wipeout!!!”). But It’s
Alive leaves no doubt that La Luz is just slumming it for now—four beach bums that can move on to better things whenever they stop having fun here. (Sat., Oct. 12, Crocodile) DANIEL PERSON
Night Beats, Sonic Bloom (out now, Reverberation Appreciation Society, facebook.com/thenightbeats.u.s) If you often find yourself getting into “rumbles” and own one or more switchblade combs, Night Beats’ excellent new album is for you. Seattle’s garage-psych savants have put out what’s easily their best record yet, a 13-track journey into a land of fuzzy guitars, droning sitar, and Rat Pack sax. Sonic Bloom finds the group getting more adventurous in their arrangements and tones, delving into the lo-fi swing of “At the Gates” and the raga-saga of “Catch a Ride to Sonic Bloom,” which swirls with deliciously garbled feedback atop an opening drone. Even though Night Beats venture out a bit more here, there’s still plenty of the punky, listless swagger that made them cool in the first place. “Rat King” struts around over a groovy, chilled-out bass line until a screaming guitar rips the track apart. It’s perfect music for hanging out in a shady alley with your hood-rat friends. Reverberation Appreciation Society, the record imprint of Austin Psych Fest, is responsible for the album’s release, which makes sense considering Night Beats’ formidable position within the national psych zeitgeist that has given birth to groups like Ty Segall and Thee Oh Sees. Even though tides of bands have aped on 13th Floor Elevators–indebted garage-psych as of late, it’s fair to say that Night Beats just do it better than everyone else. The secret is in their swagger: Night Beats walk the very important, but incredibly fine, line between caring just enough and not caring at all. (Sat., Oct. 12, Triple Door, Hypnotikon Psych Fest) KELTON SEARS
The Flavr Blue, Bright Vices (Oct. 15, Flavr Records, theflavrblue.com) Each member of this synth-pop act has an extensive local-music-scene resume: Parker Joe, a prolific producer, rapper, and designer, was a member of rap group State of the Artist; Lace Cadence has staked out a career as a solo artist as well as with hip-hop group Clockwork; and Hollis Wong-Wear, in addition to her numerous other projects, sings the hook on Macklemore’s “White Walls.” Bright Vices, The Flavr Blue’s second EP, is unsurprisingly competent and professional; these three wouldn’t put something lackluster up for public consumption. But professionalism is also its biggest vice. For all its strengths—production similar to the anesthetized modern R&B made so popular by Drake; consistently interesting synth work; multiple vocalists who can carry a song—Bright Vices is strikingly anodyne and risk-averse. Synth lines enter and beats drop exactly as expected, and uniform verses dutifully segue into choruses and back again. Opener “No Remedy” is the most club-friendly track and the obvious single (the band even shot a cross-promotional video for the song involving a Microsoft smartphone), but “Hearts Racing” is more engaging. The group wisely gives the synths and Wong-Wear’s voice room to breathe, subtly and effectively processing and pitch-shifting the latter. Considering that The Flavr Blue’s collective background is hip-hop, a genre built around sampling and sonic imperfections, occasionally letting some rough edges come through would make for a more varied listen. ANDREW GOSPE
