As the summer months reach fevered temperatures, with festival culture in full swing, Philadelphia electro-rockers Lotus return with a new studio album Eat the Light, blessing fans with new material in the rapid fashion to which they have become accustomed. Featuring vocals on every track, the brand new jams are coursing with infectious beats and a focus on big, bright choruses. Mixing up styles and criss-crossing genres, the singing can be R&B and indie-rock, female or male, songs rock n’roll and electronic alike. With the release of Eat the Light, Lotus has clearly expanded their horizons and harnessed a new vision; sunglasses just may be in order.
Lotus saw the ‘Magic Hour’ as it’s muse; the time just after sunrise – and just before sunset. Focusing on simple themes of the summer sunlight and the promise of possibility, set against a subtle paranoia brought on from society’s growing technological oversaturation, the new record is made from a cinematographers perch. Within the art, a listener will find heightened energetic vibrations and surrealism abound; Eat the Light lives in the Magic Hour.
“I wanted Eat the Light to be a celebratory album that people could sing along to while driving down the California coast,” says Luke Miller. “This is the sound of summer that makes you want to dance and raise your hands to the sky.”
Listen to the full album below, and read on for the full review.
Philadelphia based singer-songwriter Mutlu Onaral is most known for collaborating with another local hero, Amos Lee. Onaral contributes vocals on two tracks, including the album opener, “Fearless.” A song about “the indestructible feeling that propels you to try something new and scary,” Lotus channels a disco vibe, and rocks out with an orchestral arrangement atop interesting percussion. Later in the record, Mutlu rides over “When Our Nerves No Longer Twitch,” which incorporates yet another of Lotus’ many styles, awash in glitch electronics and Wurlitzer wonder, yet as advertised, brings an undeniable hook and catchy chorus.
Billboard unveiled “Eats the Light”, the album’s first single, in January. The opening salvo hinted toward the stripped down, minimalist arrangements, and a clear homage to Remain In Light-era Talking Heads. Vocals were handled by Gabe Otto of Pan Astral, who had logged time singing Heads material with Lotus during their Deconstructed shows. The single and the new direction only hinted at the future. Bubbly analog synths and driving grooves inspired by early-80s Byrne and post-disco dance culture, “Eats the Light” is more than just a dreamland, it’s a canvas of minimalist surrealism in pop art. Technologic-fueled paranoia, in a world oversaturated by bright screens that obscure art, is at the core of this document.
“The main focus was to go towards things that were definitely dancey and really hooky, and as far as the arrangement kind of simplify things and go towards pretty classic song structures but definitely keeping that Lotus groove that kind of goes through all our music, no matter what styles the songs are in,” said bassist Jessie Miller.
With a pulsating beat and syncopated bassline, “Move Too Fast” is a fun frolic, with Johnny Fissinger of Philly fam Damn Right taking the vocals; while “Anti Gravity” features Los Angeles’ singer Oriel Poole as a sultry songstress atop an aura of summertime romance. Equal parts rock n’roll and EDM, “I’ve Been a Fool (Toy Guns)” pile up layers of sonics in a steady dthat resolves itself mightily. Embracing a raw and unpolished touch, Jesse Miller really emotes on lead vocals, ably assisted by Otto. The duo also inform “Sleep When We Are Dead,” a tune with garage-band origins, that swells into an anthemic stadium swagger fit for rock royalty.
It’s not all new faces and newer voices for Lotus on Eat the Light; “White Light Fadeaway” features Steve Yutzy-Burke, welcoming back the old friend. A veteran of seminal material like “Disappear in a Blood Red Sky” and “The Surf”, Burke’s vocals take center stage as the crew channels the Carribean with a bit of psychedelic energy, atypically big synths and bulbous percussion hover about.
The more things change, the more they stay the same, and Lotus can always be counted on to reach for the sky, push the envelope, and take big chances in the name and spirit of the art. Eat the Light, despite its somewhat dramatic departures, does nothing to dispel these notions, instead the music and intention found inside the album only should embolden fans to expect such artistic leaps from this band.
B. Getz