Muted piano notes overlapped and fused with a watery rhythm to introduce their first song “Vacancy” from Son Lux’s Tomorrows III album. The dimming and lightning of the hovering light strips mirrored the rhythm that lulled the audience into a trance. Though vocalist, Kiah Victoria, was absent from the track, Lott’s shuddering vocals and Chang’s balanced murmur of percussion still beautifully delivered the song’s emotionality.

Son Lux is known for its genre-less and unconventional sound, yet the sea of headbanging from the crowd and band members spoke for itself. I got so into the songs that when I zoned back to reality, I was headbanging with the best of them.

The reverberating shudders, string lashes, and emerging clock-like pulse from “Plans We Made” in their Tommorws I album kept you enticed. The echo of “What are you doing, love” from “Honesty,” also from their Tommorws I album, melded with the uneasy surge of twisting strings that welcomed vulnerability. Their demonstration of mastery in instrumental manipulation was only the start of the show.

Before starting the next song Lott prefaced, “I’m sure this is the one everyone has been waiting for: Easy” from their 2013 album Lanterns. The crowd erupted in excitement and Lott invited Kassa Overall, a jazz musician performing at Gabe’s later that night, for a surprise collaboration. Overall contributed a melodic rap verse that was unexpectedly delightful.  

Lott took a moment before their last two songs to express his excitement for their 40 track, two-hour-long score of original music for the movie Everything Everywhere All at Once. Urging the audience to “Go watch it right now. Well, not right now – at least wait until we’re done.”

The many moving pieces to their live performance shined in Lott’s continuous changing of keyboard wires and Chang’s rotating responsibility between the soundboard and drums. As Lott played an unfamiliar first note for “Last Light” from the Tommorws I album, he paused and said, “That wasn’t right. I knew something was going to get messed up.” The crowd laughed and cheered them on as they finished their last song “Live Another Life” from the Tommorws II album.

This was Son Lux’s first time back on the stage since 2019, not to mention their first-time performing their Tomorrw tracks. Lott expressed his gratitude and was “happy to be back,” referring to their last show for Mission Creek in 2016.

Ian Chang proved his soothingly explosive drum skills a force to be reckoned with. Son Lux’s music is the perfect sonic stimulation brought together by Lott’s hollowed vocals. It espouses vulnerability and invites the audience to join in the experience. Experiencing Son Lux’s music live is the way to go and watching their sound manipulation in action is really something else.

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Ryan Lott started the band as a solo project in 2008. He released At War with Walls & Mazes in 2008, We Are Rising in 2011 and Lanterns in 2013. Then Rafiq Bhatia and Ian Chang joined Son Lux, following the release of their album Bones in 2015, transforming Son Lux into a three-piece band. They went on to release the albums Brighter Wounds in 2018, Tomorrows I in 2020, Tomorrows II in 2020 and Tomorrows III in 2021.

This year, the band created the musical score for the film Everything Everywhere All At Once. The soundtrack also includes two collaborative singles with Son Lux: Fence with Moses Sumney and This Is A Life with Mitski and David Byrne. 

Son Lux doesn’t fit neatly into any genre. Yet, their inspiration from iconic and groundbreaking artists such as Björk, Alice Coltrane, D’Angelo, Bob Dylan, and J Dilla persist. These influences blend together to create Son Lux’s unique sound. 

Son Lux’s music will entice your imagination to run free. Their previous tour performances consist of colorful lighting that coordinates with the music but doesn’t spotlight the musicians. Son Lux wants the focus to be on the audience’s experience with their music instead of them performing. As you’re fully immersed in the music, be mindful of the emotions it pulls out of you and where your mind wanders.

The post Mission Creek Preview: Son Lux – Ready to Break Boundaries appeared first on KRUI Radio.

About three songs in, Frampton takes lead vocals, and the duo’s harmonizing strengths become evident in this folksy swaying tune. Field Division proclaims their “dreaminess” in their music, arching to convey a fluid journey through both their lyrics and sound. I noticed, however, the way the dreaminess in their recorded instrumentals somewhat slips away in a live atmosphere. But where the dreaminess is lost in live acoustic guitar’s melody, it comes out in the bluesy electric guitar element they’ve added onstage with a third player.

They then promoted their EP, released in October of 2014, with a song I recognize called “Modest Mountains.” The duo describes the tour they went on to embrace the mindset of this song, which they recently made a music video for. They then closed their set with a catchier harmonizing tune, proving once again that they excel in vocal captivation. The opener’s set (and Taylor’s black boho-esque attire) leaves me both pleased and aesthetically envious.

The next opener takes me by surprise, and not exactly the pleasant kind. Next to take the stage is a group from Chicago, who call themselves Good Willsmith. They fill the room with an electronic intro, resembling distorted white noise, in an energetic build-up—or so I thought. This band is capable of one thing and one thing only: a mountainous tumbleweed of noise, in which I am waiting for what feels like an inevitable and satisfactory drop, but it’s that kind of relief I never got.

I would perhaps describe it as a spaceship malfunction. Overheard at a table near where I sit is a man recapping his own interpretation of the music to his neighbor: “…a bunch of sounds kind of… fucking stringed together”. Maybe not so eloquent, but accurate nonetheless, man in the striped crewneck tee. According to their Facebook page, the band classify themselves as “drone/noise/psychedelic/improv”. I can’t say I disagree, but I’m also not sure it’s a genre I would submit myself to again in any scenario. Simply and bluntly put: the Good Willsmith live experience was disengaging monotony.

However, I end this set on a less negative note with a nod to the guitarist. Decked out in a wide brim cap and a corncob printed on his t-shirt, he really did let that prolonged spaceship malfunction they call music course through his stage presence. I respect his ability to connect with your internal musical being, even if I got nothing out of it myself.

It wasn’t until the headlining act that I felt completely engaged in the show. Son Lux brought the energy that was missing, something reciprocated in full by their audience. This has almost everything to do with lead Ryan Lott’s powerfully engaging vocal capacity. Notably a few songs in, his hollowed projecting vocals convey the utmost emotion and vulnerability.

Good Willsmith was obvious amateur foreplay to the way these guys can manipulate a beat. Where their opener lacked in vocals, Son Lux picked up the slack and showed that they are capable of intertwining synthesizing instrumentals in a diverse fashion, while also complimenting them with a strong leading voice. Take-away lyric of the night: “You drink your wine from my heart.”

Son Lux thanked the audience for “a warm welcome” for the group’s first time in Iowa City. The audience is notably affected by the way this trio performs onstage. Climactic builds and drops of songs are especially effective in this live environment, earning sincerely ecstatic applause from their crowd. Feeding into the crowd’s evident enthusiasm is Lott’s theatrically involved singing, an obvious lead in stage presence. This being said, the drummer’s exuberant play and carefully executed drum energy is not be ignored.

As the last song draws to a close, and Lott detaches his mic from the stand above his keyboard to do some back and forth with the rowdy audience members, I come to the conclusion that a live show is most definitely the place to familiarize yourself with Son Lux. The interaction between deeply invested vocals and inevitably toe-tapping instrumentals is, for lack of a more specific or concrete explanation, an experience. And one I would eagerly repeat.

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