Alice sits in a tree, loosely listening to a book being read as she assembles white daisies into a flower crown and fights off the tiredness brought on by the afternoon sun, and the book with no pictures. But in her head is an entirely different story, filled with the wonders and fears of the world, filled with vibrant colors and even more vibrant characters. This is what Denver-based group Lu Lagoon’s second album, “When Birds Fly West,” feels like. A dreamy story that takes one down a rabbit hole of wonder and thought-provoking messages. On their latest album, Lu Lagoon creates a specific tone and feel, all while putting their talents to the test with admirable payoff.
Matching the cover art that sets the stage for the album’s aesthetic, the project opens with the single “Blood Moon,” a moving piece that speaks on the issue of climate change that the human race is facing. With somber overtones brought by the chilling vocals and acoustic guitar, the song is met with a dreamlike wonder with delicate piano and a moving strings section. Off the bat, the production, done by Skyler Mccoy, is polished and well-balanced, leaving no room for distractions.
The album moves into the second track, “Sky Valley,” which further showcases the folk sound that the band is striving for, while also incorporating a full band experience in interesting ways. The song begins bare bones, exposing the powerful vocals and distorted guitar tone, before incorporating the rhythm section in a crescendo of sound that pulls the listeners into a sonic experience vaster than previously predicted. The lyrics on this track call to the idea of where and who we consider home, providing a specific snapshot in time, calling on a storybook feel that expands as the LP progresses.
“Soulless Body,” another single from the album, comes as the third track, stripping the comfort that was delivered on “Sky Valley,” and replacing it with a numb feeling of loss and betrayal. Vocalist and lyricist for Lu Lagoon, Lauren Black, beautifully encapsulates a specific feeling, scene, or memory in her songwriting that gets at the core of what great lyricism is, and “Soulless Body,” although short and to the point, is proof of that.
At this point in the album, nearly halfway through, when we feel like we’ve gotten a feel for what the sound is when we think we know what to expect, the band throws a curveball of a track, “Strong Hearts.” Sonically, the track is different from any other track on the album, it sticks out not like a sore thumb, but more like a fully-operating and opposable one (okay, it’s better than a thumb analogy can convey, but that’s what we’ve got). The song integrates punk and rock influences with layered guitars, a cutting and straight-to-the-point rhythm section and electrifying vocals that step a register higher than we’ve heard throughout the album. Adding a subversion to the folk genre that characterizes most of the album, Lu Lagoon maintains a core piece of the band’s roots in the song, with lyrics and a tempo drawn from musical theater.
The album jumps directly back into the dreamy, yet melancholic, fairy tale world that was unraveling in the first three tracks, with songs “Lullaby,” “Morning Comes” and “Dorothy Moon.” “Lullaby” exhibits the very essence of a dreamy song to lull someone to sleep. With the addition of cello, violin and harp instrumentation in the beginning, the song comes to life in a sleepy, dreamlike way. Ending with bird sounds that call back to the nature theme introduced on the first track, the song leads into “Morning Come” a sole bagpipe interlude, that still, I can’t decide if I was surprised by it in a positive or negative way. Regardless, it adds to the surrealist feel of the project as a whole.
“Dorothy Moon” follows, with a viscous bass line that slowly and slyly pushes the song along with smooth fluidity. The rhyming lyrics and warm guitar riff, yet again, exemplify the band’s attention to detail, as it adds to the fairy tale feel of the project.
Before the most direct reference to storybook tales with the last track “Muffin Man,” the album offers two final original songs that showcase the band’s musical talent and the thought and care that they put into this album. “Fortune Teller” starts with an Americana feel, before a change in key to a minor scale that creates a juxtaposition of moods. Paired with vague but alluring lyrics, this song is mystical and intricate in ways that leave listeners wanting to return again and again in search of answers.
The album’s last full-length song directly references the album’s title “Birds Fly West.” In its name alone, it is a destination in response to the preposition that the name of the LP leaves incomplete, further adding to the cohesiveness of the album as it comes full circle. In Lu Lagoon fashion, the song delivers perfectly paired instrumentation, an attention-piquing groove and arresting vocals to match the illustrious lyrics.
Lu Lagoon’s “When Birds Fly West” is now available to stream.
