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Lycia : Wake
ARTIST: Lycia TITLE: Wake LABEL: projekt (PRO31) TRACK TIME: 35:22Someone once said, "The worst sex I ever had was still great." This is how I feel about Lycia's release "Wake." Wake is my least favorite Lycia disc, but it's still great. This, for the sake of propriety, is where I'll end the analogy.
Okay, so the first and ninth tracks rely too heavily on the drum machine and the first of these two songs doesn't sound much like what I expect from Lycia. Oh, the influence is still apparent, but it has the "demo" or "good cover" feel to it. I still like this song, but if you are a purist and have an image in mind of what to expect, this song may throw you a little ( and if you're new to Lycia, I suggest starting with one of Mike Van Portfleet's other discs).
I never really gave this disc a serious listen until recently, which is my loss, as it is quite good. "This Decline" is the first song that really catches my attentions. Portfleet's vocals do it every time! Though, sometimes, I'd kill for a lyric sheet, as I have trouble understanding what he's saying, then I think it doesn't really matter as the songs are still great.
Killer songs are..."Incinerate," (track 5) and "From Foam" (track 8). Both of these two cuts are cooler than words (at least my words). I love playing "Incinerate" late at night when my apartment is completely dark, except for the dead blue lights from my stereo. "Incinerate" is an eerie song, once you give up trying to understand what's being said. Enough words come across to get the mood going in the right direction, but mostly the vocals are mixed too low to make out much more than just the word incinerate. This is enough. "From Foam" is an instrumental piece that brings to mind all kinds of dark pictures. A great song to pen demented poetry to if that's your thing.
I've read descriptions of Lycia comparing them--them, or him? This disc is the only release that Lycia is a duo, all other discs are Portfleet alone. Anyway, I've read descriptions comparing Lycia to bands such as The Cure and Depeche Mode. These were meant as flattery, but I think much of what Lycia has done is better than either of these groups. And while I could probably support such a comparison, I think it's the apples and oranges argument and not really worth having (except Lyica would be some more exotic fruit like a pomegranate).
I'm happy to say that there are no songs on this disc that make me wish they weren't. All the songs either fall into the great or good categories, so there are no wimpy, weak, or sucky songs on Wake. Feel free to pick this one up without feeling a great sense of risk.
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