Artists | Issues | CD Reviews | Interviews | Concert Reviews | DVD/Video Reviews | Book Reviews | Who We Are | Staff | Home
 

LUC

Glow

Review by Gary Hill

I suppose you could label this EP as "pop music." That would be doing it a grave injustice, though. This is meaty music that has a lot of techno and industrial edge. There are punky elements. There is also a lot of Electronic Dance Music built into this. It's catchy and infectious. But it also has its edgy, almost dangerous moments. Kari Kimmel's voice is a real selling factor here. I am sure, particularly with the music her singing accompanies, she draws comparison to Debbie Harry. To some degree that's warranted, but it only covers only one side of her. She has a lot in common with the voices of European dance music and, yes, even pop music. Joe Corcoran is the other half of the duo handling production, music and songwriting. Call this pop music if you must, but by all means check it out. It's compelling and well worth the time.

This review is available in book (paperback and hardcover) form in Music Street Journal: 2018  Volume 6. More information and purchase links can be found at: garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2018.

Track by Track Review
Glow
There is a bit of a funky edge to this cut. It has a melding of techno and EDM. I love the channel separation effect. The vocals really sell this thing, though. They are sultry and dreamy and soulful. There is a definite Blondie edge to the piece, but it's also tied to European dance-pop stuff. The guitar solo section is meaty and brings some hard rock to it. The whole tune just oozes cool, and the bass bit at the end is all class, too.
Over It
Coming in harder edged, this has more of a pop rock vibe to it than the opener did. It is a lot catchier and has a lot of energy. That said, it loses a lot of the style and unique texture of the opener. It's a fun tune that's more instantly accessible, but it's also just not as meaty. This seems designed more specifically for the pop music crowd. It does get a bit harder edged further down the road, though.
Extraverdant

Mellower and moodier, this is a nice change. It's slow moving and rather dark, but also dreamy. After the first verse we get more energy and a bit of an Americana vibe comes into the mix. There is also a little bit of EDM here. The multiple layers of vocals work well. I like the balance between the more dropped back and the powered up stuff on this song.

Ghost
Coming in much more electronic, there is a definite percussive bent to the piece. The track builds out to some cool techno meets EDM grooves. The vocals bring a bit of a soulful yet dreamy edge. While this is more of a dance tune, it has blasts of hard rock that serve as punctuation. That more rocking angle takes control at various points along the road. This is another particularly effective tune. There is a return the percussive dropped back segment later in the track, but it gets into some of its most rocking stuff further down the musical road. An EDM bit with some techno edge serves as a dropped back part late in the piece before it explodes back out into an inspired version of the song proper.
Running Down The Halls
There is a bit of found sound (mixed with some electronics) at the start that sounds like a TV broadcast with a woman speaking French. The tune works out from there to more mainstream electronic pop music. The chorus is particularly catchy. Yet the song still has some meat on its bones despite its pop preferences. There is a killer instrumental break with some non-lyrical vocals over the top.
Lost In Love

A bit slower and moodier, there is a really cool groove to this cut. This song is less edgy than some of the rest, perhaps feeling a bit more like a female led version of Depeche Mode. That's not a bad thing, though. It works letter and paints a different kind of musical picture than a lot of the disc does. This is quite an effective way to end the set, really. It brings things down to Earth in a great way. It does have some cool synthesizer sounds built into it, too.

 
Return to the
LUC Artist Page
Artists Directory
 
Google

   Creative Commons License
   This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License.

    © 2024 Music Street Journal                                                                           Site design and programming by Studio Fyra, Inc./Beetcafe.com