Posted by: leeway | January 12th, 2012
This is an album full of Lotus' anticipated intense rhythm and melody pairings (dancetronica/funk/rock/hip-hop), coupled with the confident strut of a band that is now a veteran on the jam/trance/psychedelic scene. Lotus continues to craft music that is purposefully expansive for the like-minded folk hearing their albums, yet grounded enough to keep a backbone groove that is perfect for those who just want to get down.
Lotus' tracks are formed from delicious layers of rhythm and melody that quickly expose themselves as dance inducing music. Listen to the first two tracks, "Golden Ghost" and "Blacklight Sunflare" (I may as well list all of the tracks, for that matter), and try not to move to the vibrations; it's an effort in futility. Lotus knows what its fan base shows up for, and the band delivers in a seemingly effortless manner, whether it's on their discs or in a live setting.
In this pop-ready world, it can be tough trying to get someone to buy into a band's efforts to sell a largely instrumental disc, but that's what people come to Lotus for. When lyrics do rear up, they are going to be sparse, but uplifting and celebratory. "Bush Pilot" demands that, "If you came to the jam with some sun in your hand put it high in the sky. Let it shine for the land to see, we're here." This track certainly does shine, as will your mood as you imbibe in its dose of hip-hop meets something akin to a child of afro-beat's brashness and the confident strut of a Latin horn and rhythm section.
Lotus stands as a testament to what a few people can craft with a set of drums, a bass, a synth-laden keyboard set up, and a guitar or two. The sound textures that Lotus is able to come up with are masterful; they always keep the listener guessing, which is necessary to survive in the jam world. Lotus, though, likely doesn't want its listeners to anticipate changes, as much as react to them, and my ears always smile through the movements.
Lotus has delivered another album that its passionate fan base is sure to accept into the fold; it's also a sign of an ever-maturing sound that is destined to bring in some new ears. If you love a good beat and the shock of a synthetic sound gets your mouth watering, this is a band to chew on. Lotus, still relatively young in its potentially long career, has yet to fall off its game, and there's no sign of a stumble on the horizon.
- Jeremy Sanchez
