CD Odyssey Disc 1854: Lucius

I an generally against bands that self-title a record later in their career. I’m not saying you have to make your first record eponymous, but if you don’t, you’ve missed your chance. If your fans have to call your record “The White Album” or “The Black Album” or “The Avocado Album” that should tell you that you have missed your chance. At this point you’re just confusing everyone.

Fortunately, a badly timed album title does not a bad album make, as this next review confirms.

Disc 1854 is…Self-Titled

Artist: Lucius

Year of Release: 2025

What’s up with the Cover? This feels like an appropriate time to note that I am uncomfortable around dogs. Not just big scary dogs either, like I imagine this one is. Even small well-behaved dogs have a disconcerting trait – their slavish devotion. It’s off-putting. Make me earn your respect, dog!

Inside this album there is a fold-out poster of the band, all white and red and looking like a seventies art-school horror film. Why couldn’t this be the cover, Lucius? Why?

How I Came To Know It: I was already a Lucius fan. Their 2022 album “Second Nature” has somehow eluded me so far, but I was able to find this one a bit easier, and snapped it up at my local record store.

How It Stacks Up: I have four Lucius albums so far. Despite the crime of delayed eponymy I noted in the intro this album lands at #3.

Ratings: 3 stars but almost 4

While I liked 2022’s “Second Nature” it is their self-titled follow up that sees Lucius fully recovering their form. This record sees the band delivering their smoothest and grooviest record yet.

By the same token, it is also much less experimental than previous efforts and sees the band staying to a more mainstream lane. This is not a criticism, because the lane travelled here is candy to the ear. And if these melodies sound effortless and straightforward, then I would remind you that writing melodies that sound like that is hard.

As ever, whether the songs are dressed up with production or stripped down to their basic elements, the secret to every Lucius album are the co-lead vocals of Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig. The two of them blend their two instruments into a single sonic experience. You’d think they were twins the way they match tone, but nope – they’re just really good.

Fifteen or so years into their career they still sound youthful and vibrant as ever. They’ve settled into their sound like a comfy chair, and it feels like they are singing in a “don’t have to prove a thing” way that removes any strain from the experience. Easy, breezy and thoroughly relaxing for the soul.

If these songs were angst-ridden dirges that might be a problem, but the vibe here is a chill groove. Feeling laid back is the order of the day.

That said, there is a dance club quality to many of the songs, just not a frantic bust-a-move kind of dance club. More the sultry swing-n’-sway kind. Maybe an artful upward slide of palms on hips that lifts the hemline of your dress an inch or two; sexy but still tasteful. A club where the lights don’t flash so much as shift colours to the tempo of the music. A club where people are overdressed and drink Manhattans, but you forgive them because everyone look so goddamned fabulous.

The album’s production pairs well with this low-light glow, featuring lots of echo and ambient warmth, embracing and reassuring you. Even on songs like “Stranger Danger” which rely heavily on synthesizers, things still feel stripped down and vulnerable, but never stark.

My only quibble about this record is that for a band that creates such lovely melodies, Lucius can sometimes decide to let the production try to solve their ending rather than resolve them. The songs spiral upward, adding layer after layer of sound in place of a natural finish to the song. Done well it feels dreamlike, but sometimes I wanted a bit more resolution from the tune itself.

A minor quibble on a record that had me feeling relaxed and comforted from the opening notes. I didn’t feel challenged by the music or the lyrics, but I did feel the love, and sometimes love is all you need. That, and maybe an album title.

Best tracks: Final Days, Gold Rush, Mad Love, Stranger Danger, Hallways, Old Tape

CD Odyssey Disc 1668: Lucius

My last Lucius review caused a (friendly) feud between myself and a Tame Impala fan (to summarize: he likes them; I don't). We’ll see if today’s words of musical wisdom are received any better.

Disc 1668 is…Wildewoman

Artist: Lucius

Year of Release: 2013

What’s up with the Cover?  A very wild woman eats an ice cream cone. What is so wild about eating an ice cream cone, you ask? Well, what if I told you she was lactose intolerant! That’s right – this woman is a risk taker, a heart breaker and (in about an hour from now) a bum quaker.

How I Came To Know It: Back in 2018 I read a review of “Nudes” (reviewed back at Disc 1252. That led me to that album, and then backwards through their catalogue, which is how I landed on “Wildewoman”.

How It Stacks Up: I have three Lucius albums (I’m still on the lookout for their latest). Of those three, “Wildewoman” comes in at #2.

Rating: 4 stars

Lucius is the singing duo of Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig, who make lighthearted dream pop with the bones of country songs if you were to strip them down. This music was a bit of a shock to the system after the heavy metal majesty of my previous review (Visigoth) but once I settled into their much mellower sound, I had a good time.

There is a fair bit of jangle in this music, creating not so much a wall of sound as a wall of mist. Lots is going on, but it doesn’t feel busy. The experience starts with the vocals, because Wolfe and Laessig are so naturally complementary that everything is delightfully harmonized. After that, the arrangements just fall into place.

My early favourite on the record was “Go Home” with an easy midnight stroll kind of swing, and a more stripped-down production than other places on the record. On “Nudes” Lucius totally cuts out all the extraneous sound and whenever “Wildewoman” approaches that sound is when I like it best.

The topics tend to be the drama of one’s early twenties. Lots of relationship stuff, and the wobble between the disconcerting “what’s my purpose?” and the self-affirming “embrace uncertainty!” So no need to have a complex, it is just youth in all its grandeur and exploratory grandeur. I’m no spring chicken anymore, but good music can always bring you back to a time and a place.

“Tempest” is another standout, again with the two vocals blending into a single voice. It had me wondering if this is what angels sound like. Not that I’m saying there are angels, just that if they were they’d sing like this. As opposed to Valkyries, who would sing more like Visigoth. You know, with a sort of “we’ll still bear you to heaven with our otherworldly singing, but when you arrive, there will be fighting.”

But I digress…

“Two of Us on the Run” may be the record’s best tune. It captures all the elements of the youthful wobble I referenced earlier. There is a romantic element, an exploration of the world (this time with your partner) and even a bit of doubt and uncertainty (delivered through well-placed minor chords) that make you unsure of whether it will all work out, but willing to strike out all the same.

Not every track took me skyward, and one or two tunes fell into an “inoffensive filler” vibe. “Until We Get There” is “Two of Us on the Run” but if it were in a less thoughtful teen road trip movie. It is still wonderful to listen to, but I found myself peeking behind the curtain of the song’s structure rather than being wrapped up in its anthemic spirit, as it intended. The trilogy of road trip tunes picks up again with “Don’t Just Sit There” which does all the same things as the earlier two tunes, but without evincing any desire for me to look behind the curtain.

This was a lot of songs exploring the same theme in a row, but I didn’t mind. I was happy to just imagine I was in a convertible, top down, driving to my next adventure. Maybe this was because a lot of my listening was in a convertible, with the top down…but Lucius did make it feel like I was driving to an adventure, and any art that puts me in that frame of mind is good by me.

Best tracks: Go Home, Tempest, Two of Us on the Run, Don’t Just Sit There

CD Odyssey Disc 1252: Lucius

Another day, and some new albums to add to my collection. Today’s additions were:

• Three albums by James McMurtry (“It Had to Happen”, “Walk Between the Raindrops” and “Saint Mary of the Woods”). These span his career from 1997-2002.
• The Honey Dewdrops “Silver Lining.” Another husband-wife folk duo.
• Applewood Road’s self-titled debut, which features Emily Barker collaborating with fellow folksters Amber Rubarth and Amy Speace
• Molly Tuttle “When You’re Ready”. Her latest release is an early favourite for my 2019 top ten albums list.

I’ll talk about all those when I roll them, but for now let’s discuss an album that I overlooked on my 2018 Top Ten list, but I’m now correcting that mistake.

Disc 1252 is… Nudes

Artist: Lucius

Year of Release: 2018

What’s up with the Cover? What’s better than a Giant Head on an album cover? Two Giant Heads of course! Lucius thought so highly of these two giant heads that the CD comes with a fold out poster about 18” square in case you would like these two faces staring across a room at you. I do not, and so have left the faces – beautiful as they are – safely stowed inside the CD case.

How I Came to Know It: I read a review of this album last year and it intrigued me enough to take a listen. I discover a lot of my music by just reading a lot of music reviews and keeping an open mind. The former is only good for finding music, but the latter is good for everything.

How It Stacks Up:  I have three Lucius albums. I like them all but “Nudes” is the best.

Ratings:  5 stars

Sometimes more is less, and in 2018 two acts proved this true, baring it all to create masterpieces.

Like St. Vincent’s “MassEducation,” (reviewed back at Disc 1207) “Nudes” uses nudity as a metaphor. St. Vincent posed nude for her album cover, and for Lucius it is the album’s title. In both cases, a band known for their electric prowess unplugged, baring the bones of their songs for all to see.

I’m often wishing that an artist would strip a song down. Sometimes all that production is hiding some other deficiency, but often it is just getting in the way of the tune. Neither St. Vincent nor Lucius are guilty of those offences, but I still enjoyed getting a chance to hear their music in a different format.

While the effect gives “Nudes” a folksier feel than Lucius’ early releases, this music remains pop at its core. Amazing pop, in fact, with melodies that soar and dip like a seagull enjoying a strong shore breeze.

It helps that Lucius’ co-leads Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig have such beautiful voices. Either could sing these songs on their own, but together they create sublime harmonies, fitted together so close it feels like a single unearthly vocal. They reminded me of the Staves or the Wailin Jenny’s, but with a pop seventies a.m. radio vibe. It is like the Carpenters were crossed with the Supremes.

As noted earlier, “Nudes” is an acoustic effort and Lucius uses the opportunity to reimagine old songs (three tracks), write new ones (four tracks) and even throw in a few covers (three tracks). Despite the varied source material, the cohesive approach to both the production and arrangements makes the album a cohesive whole.

The change in style inspires Lucius to new heights, and while the overall sound is consistent, the individual songs show incredible range, taking established structures from a variety of genres and twisting them slightly into something fresh and new.

The original version of their 2016 song “Something About You” is pure indie pop, but the cover on “Nudes” has a delightful swing that is reminiscent of sixties Motown. They take their 2013 song “Until We Get There” and pull it from pop into contemporary folk with no ill effects.

New tracks “Neighbors” and “Woman” are every bit the equal of the remakes. “Neighbors” has the bass-driven gallop of a Western combined with bluesy-pop, perfectly suited to its feeling of alienation from someone in a new city, uncertain of their surroundings and relationships alike. “Woman” is dream pop crossed with a romantic ballad from some early seventies psychedelic rock record. The record seamlessly reaches across genres, coopting multiple influences into something fresh.

Two of the three covers are masterpieces. On the second track Lucius tackles the Gerry Rafferty classic “Right Down the Line.” I love the original and went to Youtube to remind myself of it. After a few listens between the versions I could not pick a favourite.

Lucius also tackles Tame Impala’s “Eventually” and here it was no contest. Lucius takes Tame Impala’s fuzzy mess of a song, polishes it off, unplugs it, converts it to their own style, and makes it great. It almost made me want to give Tame Impala a second chance. Just kidding, no it didn’t.

The only slight stumble on the record is the last track; a cover of the traditional folk song “Goodnight, Irene” which they undertake with what sounds like a half-cut Roger Watters. I forgive this a little because Wolfe and Laessig’s vocals are so good. Also, “Goodnight, Irene” is meant to have a bit of barroom sway to it. The biggest sin here is that song isn’t a masterpiece like the nine that precede it.  

In the end not only does this record land on my list for Top 10 Albums of 2018 (now updated) it makes it all the way up to #3. I’m going to go back and repost that corrected list because it troubles me to think that people are out there might look at a Top 10 list that doesn’t include “Nudes”.

Best tracks: All of them except maybe “Goodnight, Irene”