Album Review: Karen O, Danger Mouse - Lux Prima
With a producer as experienced and prolific as Danger Mouse (whose credits include work with artists as varied and talented as MF DOOM, Adele, and U2), his name on an upcoming album can often massively inflate the expectations for that work's quality. But while his name has become entangled within a wide variety of genres, lately his creations have unfortunately been hit-or-miss, the recent albums with Portugal. The Man and the Red Hot Chili Peppers in particular being noticeably mediocre. Oddly, his best material as of late has emerged from partnering with relatively unknown talent, be it on the Parquet Courts album from last year, Wide Awake (which I also reviewed), and now on an unlikely record with Karen O, best known as the singer of the forgotten indie rock band the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
To describe the sound of Lux Prima is not a simple task; it is ostensibly an indie pop album, yet has a seemingly equal fascination with electronic and live instrumentation, not to mention a wide palette of song structures. While most of the cuts here are short and upbeat, the nine-minute title track opens as an ambient, psychedelic opus of strings and synths before bursting into an surge of percussion and keys, on top of which Karen's vocals are merely another instrument in an auditory collage. This sound both begins and ends the song, in between giving way to a more relaxed, bass-heavy groove that has Karen intoning "I'm nowhere, I'm no one, I'm nobody/There's nobody but you".
Many of these sounds reappear on the next few tracks, as Danger Mouse continuously outdoes himself in an expert display of variety; Turn The Light pairs the aforementioned bass with a slick guitar line, whereas Ministry opts for more acoustic plucking augmented by swelling synths during the chorus. His meddling also seeps into the vocals on several tracks: Reveries achieves a delicate tone by filtering Karen's voice and the guitar line as if coming through a bad speaker, an effective match to the messy synth breakdown in the song's latter half. This does not always produce perfect results, however, particularly on Drown where the distorted singing is a questionable addition to what is already the most unremarkable instrumental here.
As much credit as the production should be given, it is Karen O's vocals which truly elevate this project above its contemporaries (and, indeed, above much of Danger Mouse's recent work). Finally paired with a talent to match hers, her elegant yet powerful voice excels on nearly every song here, whether adding atmosphere to the more ethereal tracks or driving the beat forward on jazzier cuts like Redeemer: "Blood moves still in my deep blue vein/Gotta cut my teeth on a diamond chain/My lips are cracked, all black and blue/You're not coming for me, I'm coming for you". Even if her lyrics are rarely as eloquent as this, as a whole her performance here shows a great deal of promise.
It would be hard to single out a track here with nothing to offer, with even the more dubious moments being exciting simply due to Danger Mouse constantly trying out new sounds and experimenting with various styles. Leopard's Tongue, between the horn stings and upbeat bass line, is practically a old-school soul number, save for Karen's more pop-tinged singing, adding flavor if not much else. Immediately after, Reveries slows things down significantly in preparation for the closer Nox Lumina, a sprawling blend of electronic noise and strings that starts soft before building to perhaps the most dramatic climax here; a worthy partner to the lengthy composition that kicked everything off.
Lux Prima is an odd album, both in concept and in execution, but its quirks are far more endearing than one would expect, and there is much to love here. Danger Mouse is clearly back in his element, playing with a variety of sounds and moods that range from groovy and optimistic all the way down to thoughtful, minimalist ambiance, a journey on which Karen O is a willing and capable partner from start to finish. Every track feels distinct from the last, and yet the experience as a whole feels tight and connected, with no melody or lyric ever feeling too out of place. Though Danger Mouse is well known for his talent at producing, he also possess an uncanny knack for bringing out the best in whoever he works with, and this album is perhaps the most pertinent example of that phenomenon. In any case, an album as impressive yet enjoyable as this should not be overlooked.
8.5/10
Favourite Tracks: Lux Prima, Ministry, Redeemer
https://open.spotify.com/album/1kgurOfUl0Qu20MDK46xur?si=F77AFfIoQqSfl9dAqPzYJQ