Review | La Luz – La Luz

Label: Hardly Art

‘La Luz’ is the fourth album by the three piece of the same name fronted by artist and writer Shana Cleveland. La Luz create musical blankets of 60’s psychedelia tinged with modern day elements of soul, hip hop and rock. This retrospective yet modern take is particularly present in this album, in part due to their collaboration with producer Adrian Younge.

This adds a depth to La Luz’s sound which can be heard in ‘Watching Cartoons’ which comes across like a 60’s take on soul and ‘Metal Man’ which has the stomping and almost distorted drums of a trip hop song. ‘Oh, Blue’ swims by in a haze with Cleveland’s delicate vocals and various light instruments drifting in and out to create a track that floats along like a lazy river. ‘Goodbye Ghost’ ups the tempo but still retains the soft vocals and low fi production.

Though the 60’s theme laces it’s way through the album and is hard to ignore, when you give yourself to ‘La Luz’ you will notice all the subtle genre changes and layers. This is an album that practically exudes patchouli oil and will transport you back to a summer of love, making you feel the desert heat beating down on you.