Despite the occasional obtuseness of Ryan Lott's lyricism, Son Lux, the project of the now Los Angeles based composer/producer, has had a remarkable ability to resonate. This is largely due to the fact that Lott obscures the personal for the universal. As Son Lux has grown to include not only Lott but guitarist Rafiq Bhatia and drummer Ian Chang, both talented musicians/composers in their own right, that opaque quality has become more logical as the music could now be rooted to the collective experience of the trio. Lott has managed to avoid the distraction of personal mystery that is still incredibly poignant and sincere. But something changed around the time of the US election. He didn't say at the time but his response to the growing unrest not only in the US but the world over stirred something in him and Remedy, a four song EP whose proceeds were all donated to SPLC, was the result. But if I've learned anything from Ryan Lott, he always has more than and so several months later, we've gotten "Dream State", the first single from an upcoming Son Lux record that'll see its release early next year.
Brighter Wounds was written in the same head space as Remedy but with much more personal stakes: bringing a new life into the world in the form of his newborn son as well as watching cancer usher a friend out of it, Brighter Wounds is set to be Son Lux's most revealing album and "Dream State" doesn't disappoint. Without the context of its creation, "Dream State" is still as effortlessly arresting as any Son Lux song. Compositionally, the trio is still operating at the peak performance they honed in on as a live band touring behind Lanterns before Bhatia and Chang actually entered the fold on Bones. Everything begins subtly as Lott reminisces of times before having to wonder about how the future will play out. "We knew we were impervious no matter how we bleed", Lott croons, encapsulating the invincibility and hope of youth and as the song marches on with it's rush of shout vocals, the lyrics gradually change to reflect the newfound doubt and care. And yet much like "Change Is Everything" there is an overwhelming sense of hope that not only catapults the song but weathers the shifting landscape and contorted lyricism of "Dream State". Lott isn't a pessimist and never has been much for that sort of thinking and he's obviously taking stock of his new reality without sinking in to despair about it.
Much like Deerhoof's brilliant and political Mountain Moves, Son Lux are firmly of the opinion that even as things get unforeseeably worse that there are brighter times ahead. "Out of the dark day, into the brighter night" Lott and his choir of voices sing at the climax and its deeply felt. Things are uncertain now and uncertain as we age and wrestle with real responsibilities and real tragedies but in that uncertainly lies the glittering beacon of hope that things will right themselves in the end. It just might take a long, sobering look into the darkness and an unexpected amount of fortitude before it's possible.
Listen/Watch the beautiful lyric video of "Dream State" directed by frequent collaborators The Made Shop:
Brighter Wounds, the fifth full length studio album from Son Lux, is out February 9th on City Slang. You can pre-order the record now.
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