Animal (studio album)
by LUMP

From Mercury 09/17/2021 06:48

(Really solid artsy indietronica/art pop or rock/etc album. This actually a fairly hard to describe sound, but its all good. Really, really good.)

So, LUMP is a collaboration between Laura Marling (love her she is great) and Mike Lindsay (uhhh… never heard of him). And, well, these 2 they make music. Its like pop and indie and has electronic elements, and it is quite hard to narrow down exactly what genre this should be. There are pianos and electronic synth parts, and big orchestral sounds, and there are super sexy eargasmic rhythms, and there are sad ballads and there is poetic lyricism, and there a whole atmosphere created on this album that is unique and powerful and warm and somehow just about the best thing released this year in some ways.

It sounds like these 2 have great chemistry. Laura has a great voice. And these songs utilize her instrument in varied and always quite gorgeous ways. On “Red Snakes” it’s a sad sorrowful voice, on a song like “Gamma Ray” her voice has this sexy, imposing, deeper power. On a track like “Paradise” she sounds almost deadened at times and cold in an intriguing way… Anyway, news flash, Laura Marling is incredible. Oh, and, like, the sky is blue… fucking DUH! Mike and Laura just absolutely killed it with the vocal arrangements and sounds here.

The main thing that I always notice more than anything else on this album is how GREAT the bass tones and the heavy-footed rhythms sound. It feels so heavy and tangible and just, idk, like it feels like your head is being rattled. Its brilliant. And the melodies and the other synthetic and organic sounds that are built around these deep foundations are always quite cool and ear-catching. For an example of this dope heavy rhythm sound check out “Gamma Ray” or “Paradise”.

“Hair On the Pillow” is alright, I guess. Its just a little electronic instrumental. Doesn’t add much. But outside of that track and perhaps the short little number “Oberon” which also seems a bit throwaway, the rest of the track list is pretty much fat-free and bursting with supple, beautiful musical ideas.

Also, something really cool about this album is how it closes. It saves the best for last, folks! That twin guitar melody and harmonizing on the closer, “Phantom Limb” is mesmerizing especially when paired with the gentle gorgeousness of Marling’s vocal performance. Then the song just builds and goes into a cool progressive electronic passage and then the horn comes in and it just keeps going! Its fabulous! That bookend paired with the opener (aka the other bookend), “Bloom at Night” and the stunning electronic swirl that starts that amazing opener, you have yourself an amazing opening and closing of this very neat, tidy, cool as fuck, album. Yes, the whole Closing Credits Reading by Marling at the end of “Phantom Limb” is a bit strange and I’m not sure how I feel about it. All things considered it doesn’t take much if anything away from this beautiful record.

If I have any critique or anything that maybe is holding me back from proclaiming this a standout, top-tier album for this year, its that there is a feeling I get of mild interest, or kind of a laid back and not particularly impassioned vibe coming off this album like an odor. Not a bad, fecal or BO type odor, just a hint, an aura, or whatever. I get the feeling this is a couple friends who get along and whenever they are in touch there is a quickening of creative juices. They start bandying back and forth their ideas that maybe wouldn’t fit on their main band’s albums or on Marling’s solo albums. And they get in a studio, and they put their heads together and they make these, admittedly glistening and gorgeous, songs. So, the album feels slightly cold and calculated. That may just be the intended sound or message or vibe that these artists want to exhibit, or it may just be a product of this style or genre. I don’t know. But it makes me feel like this isn’t a major release, just a side project. A really cool side project rife with cool musical ideas, but not the main dish all the same.

Still, I recommend this album very much. Its gorgeous and if you like Art Pop, or Indietronica, or lowkey ballads with some subtle and gorgeous production or you like albums that just exude calm, cool, and chill, you’ll like this a lot methinks.

From ledaero 08/21/2021 23:57

One of the year's best and most inspiring projects. What an incredible album LUMP has produced. It flows like a concept album with each track bleeding into one another. Mind-melting arrangements, beautiful production, killer record.