Music of tomorrow[s III]
Son Lux’s final addition to their Tomorrows album trilogy: Tomorrows III, is something from a sexy space drama: dramatic, minimal and so damn interesting. The experimental pop group, which is describable as genreless, consists of three friends: composer Ryan Lott, guitarist Rafiq Bhatia and drummer Ian Chang, each artist wishing to explore the interrelatedness of classical and pop music and how musical genres overlap. The group strives to deconstruct music to its molecular level.
In effect, the music throughout this album feels questioning, reflective, ambiguous and other-worldly. It’s an album not of words or music, but of shapes, colors and sound perceived as such.
The first track on the album is “Unbind,” a string-heavy track that glides through the water in an old sailboat, the water droplets splashing gently on its face. The track, gradually and unexpectedly, takes a turn down the pop route with the introduction of a rock drum set. The result is something supernatural, with waves of synth sending ripples across the strings and drum duo. The track takes yet another turn with the introduction of an electric guitar, making the song one great big crescendo of multi-layeredness.
“A Different Kind Of Love” is like a soundscape for a horror film, the beginning parts where the only thing that’s sure is the suspense and not the monster lurking beneath. The monster in question of these lyrics is a realization that some loves are better than others. Empty, isolating and distinct, this track has a little bit of everything.
Other songs include “Sever,” a frequency song to meditate to, featuring Holland Andrews. “Embrace” feels like a song taken straight from the Portal 2 soundtrack, a track full of plug-in created sounds feeling loud within empty spaces.“Vacancy,” featuring Kiah Victoria, is an echo of the song “Embrace” on the album, both a retaliation, a farewell, soothing and awakening with a distinct use of strings, plug-ins, low tones and careful rhythmic patterns. A tightrope walk between the familiar world of classical music and the endless possibilities found within electronica.
Alien and foreign, the sounds of Tomorrows III are created to intrigue and perplex through the use of unconventional instruments and mixing of musical genres. The result is an intriguing listen: a peek behind the hypnotizing existence of the musical multiverse.
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