An Image of Lucius Via Fantasy Records
In anticipation of their self-titled fourth studio album releasing in May, Lucius has begun releasing singles to promote sales and pre-saves. Three of the eleven tracks off the new album have been released, including “Stranger Danger”, “Old Tape”, and, most recently, “Gold Rush”, which was released on February 5.
The first single released was the fifth track of the album “Stranger Danger” which came out in November of 2023. Evidently this album has been quite a while in the making considering this is over a year ago today. This single also features Taylor Goldsmith on piano and electric guitar. Goldsmith is most recognizable from the band Dawes as the lead singer, guitarist, and as one of the primary songwriters. This song has an ethereal and dreamy feeling with soft lyrics and unique synth instrumental elements. The gentle vocals discuss the changes in the world as human culture loses touch with nature and the true meaning of compassion. It comments on the damage human nature enacts on the planet and each other, posing the question of “now what?” It provokes thought about human behavior, asking: now that so much damage has been done, how can it be reversed? Towards the 2:35 minute mark of the song the beat changes to a quicker paced and frantic beat as the lyricism changes to focus on the topic of going through the motions of life while numb, turning a blind eye to the harm being done. These lyrics continue to be repeated, getting more hectic and frantic as the beat escalates further. The visualizer to this song perfectly accompanies these themes in a unique and interesting way. It first presents a painted image of a tiger as its stripes melt off into a dark puddle which consumes the screen as the rhythm of the song changes. This illustrates the idea of shutting out the issues and choosing to stay in the dark as the pink lyrics flash across the screen. At the end of the song, a pair of yellow eyes open and stand out in the dark, symbolizing the awareness of these issues through the opening of one’s eyes. This single was overall a very strong and well-presented release, it is absolutely worth experiencing the accompanying visualizer when taking in the song for the first time.
Stranger Danger Cover Art Via Lucius’ Spotify
“Old Tape” was the second single having been released in August 2024 alongside a music video. This track followed a similar path as “Stranger Danger” with a cheery and dreamy instrumental accompanied by airy yet powerful vocals. The lyrics are about an “old tape playing” in their head, in reference to old memories being brought up by some sort of trigger. This is especially prevalent through the lyrics, “and once in a while you turn up the dial to an old tape playing in my head” referring to someone jogging these memories. Overall, the song was well composed, the vocals nicely flowed with the instrumentals and the tone of the song. The instrumentals are quick paced and heavily layered but are not overbearing by any means. The accompanying music video was an interesting experience. When it comes to music videos there are often two kinds; a music video that represents the thematics of the lyrics in a visual way and those that are just simply present for a watching experience. In this case, the music video for “Old Tape” fell into the latter category. It was a wonderfully absurd video, featuring the beloved actor and comedian, Fred Armison, who danced while traversing through a series of rooms and doors. The only possible meaning that can be gleaned from the video may be from the repetition of rooms which could represent the constant return and replaying of these memories. Apart from this, the video is a fun adventure which is worth watching even if it does not specifically further the listening experience.
A Still of Fred Armison from the “Old Tape” Music Video on Youtube
The most recent single “Gold Rush” has a unique energy. The single is reminiscent of the 70’s with a joyful and energetic melody. The instrumental features a strong bass guitar with quick paced drums. The beat has a similar character to many popular songs by Arctic Monkeys or Hozier but the lighter vocals take the song in a different direction than these bands. The vocal rhythm through the verses is repetitive but features enough variance to not lose interest. The quicker paced and more catchy chorus rhythm provides a nice break from the recurring verse. The lyrics themselves are where the song truly falls short. While the beginning of the song feels interesting and attention grabbing, the lyrics have far too much repetition to continually capture a listener’s attention. A repetitive vocal rhythm can be an effective song element, but when paired with repetitive lyricism it becomes overbearing. The lyric “I’ll never leave” is repeated more times than a new lyric is featured, frequently being placed in random areas throughout the song. This would be a good way to tie the song together should it fit in these places. In this case, however, it stands out and often does not make sense with the context and flow of the other lyrics. One example of this is in the later verse where the lyrics state “Till the end, right from the start, Act your age, stay young at heart, I’ll never leave, I’ll never leave”. The recurring “I’ll never leave” phrase feels thrown in and forced into place as opposed to complementing the flow and story of the lyrics. It is unfortunate the lyrics fall flat since this is a well composed and put together single otherwise.
Album Cover for Lucius Via Fantasy Records
Overall, these were three fairly well produced singles. “Gold Rush” felt like it was the weakest of the three, feeling more hastily written while “Stranger Danger” and “Old Tape” felt like they were of a much higher quality production. Lucius will be going on an American tour in May of this year following the album release and tickets can be purchased through their website. Pre-sale for the tickets began February 11 and general sale will begin today, February 14. The self-titled Album “Lucius” can be pre-saved or pre-ordered on vinyl form through a variety of platforms.
