La Luz: Floating Features
Despite the fact that the ladies in La Luz are from Seattle, Washington they have always sounded as though they were a band from California. So what if the band relocated south and were finally entrenched in the kind of sun and surf vibes that their previous two full length albums represented so effectively? The answer would be Floating Features.
The self-titled opening track is a signpost, indicating that there's a new brevity and urgency to La Luz. Guitars stammer, organs punch in bursts before all is intertwined into a worthy instrumental beach jam. The eleven songs on Floating Features are swathed in confidence, they display a heightened songwriting craft, that hopefully positions lead songwriter, guitarist and vocalist Shana Cleaveland to the top of the modern surf/garage totem pole. This album, however, is a group achievement. Every instrument boasts a muscularity beyond previous recordings. Alice Sandahl’s keyboard parts are much louder in the mix and more majestic, lifting and dropping, twisting and turning side by side Cleaveland’s guitar work. The rhythm work between Marian Li Pino’s drums and Lena Simon's bass excite with every inventive fill, every rapid-fire burst breaking with urgency. Three albums in and I think it’s safe to say that Lena Simon’s bass and Li Pino’s drums make up one of the tightest rhythm sections in the game. The surf genre can be a dicey prospect what with cliche instrumentation and generic recycled riffs, but La Luz has mastered navigating around these tropes. Guitars still twang and jangle, organs pump and swirl, harmonies lift, giving the impression that the ocean is never too far away, sounding authentic, familiar but unique, old and new. There is a freshness to this set that perhaps only could have come after relocating to California, allowing the geography of their new home to play a major player on the album. La Luz sound utterly inspired on Floating Features, what hasn’t changed is the stellar interplay between band members. The collective contributions to middle album track and slow burner The Creature, makes my heart skip a beat every time, by the time Cleaveland lets out a restrained howl preceding the guitar solo, I’m looking over my shoulder for that intangible presence that the singer is succumbing to. The vocal harmonies over the whole album stand in good company with past girl groups and Doo Wop outfits. The album moves like a weather system imbuing the mood from high’s to lows, everything in between, incorporating everything you’d want to hear from a summer album. Floating Features is the best album La Luz has ever made, just add water and stir in lime.