La Luz
News of the Universe
*** out of *****
La Luz newest album contends with the fact that nothing is certain in this world except change as News of the Universe was written after life altering medical news, band member shifts, and a society in flux.
Singer-songwriter, guitarist and front woman Shana Cleveland wrote the album right after her diagnosis of breast cancer. She turned to the theme of universal love embracing the bands past sounds, but also forging ahead into the future on a positive note.
Working on the album with producer Maryam Qudus (Spacemoth), Cleveland is joined by new drummer Audrey Johnson, along with longtime members bassist Lena Simon and keyboardist Alice Sandahl both of who will be leaving La Luz after this album. This change and upheaval (Qudus has since joined the band full time on keys) was all filtered through upbeat vibes as the record soars around fantastic vocals and light psychedelic sounds.
The opening ooh and ah's from the introductory "Reaching Up to the Sun" bleeds into rumbling drums, fuzzy guitar and bass as the indie rock pumps up "Strange World" with added synths and layers of breathy vocals. The drum rolls, the psych synth work and rich bass line help pump up "Dandelions" while "Poppies" has shimmering guitar lines and deep bass as the layers of sounds work in chimes and a vibrating energy. The acoustic ode to Cleveland's newborn on album closer "Blue Jay" is touching while "I'll Go With You" starts ominous but shifts to pretty with picturesque aplomb.
On the band's last self titled album, the group shifted into a weird mix of hip-hop and doo-wop, here the group return to more of a slightly trippy, indie rock core. A track like "Blue Moth Cloud Shadow" injects chamber pop into the mix, but the majority of the songs are like "Always in Love" with a killer guitar solo or the slow waltzing "Good Luck With Your Secret" which focuses on the keys.
The title track wraps things up wonderfully with the lyric “I was in a dream, but now I can see that change is the only law" as Johnsons drum groove, Cleveland's guitar fuzzes, Sandahl uses spacey keys while Simon's bass bumps. The cinematic track fades out, however La Luz always manages to move on as they surely will continue to do, despite constant change.
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