A Distorted Reality.

Lydia’s This December was an album which dominated my listening habits for the best part of 2006: it was honest, it was dark and it was immediate whilst retaining subtle nuances which could only be appreciated with a copious amount of repetitious listening. It was that perfect balance of instant-gratification listening and longer term appreciation: it was more art than any other album which I heard that year. It is, perhaps, no surprise then that Illuminate had me salivating for its release from the moment that it was announced. The 18th of March 2008 was to be the date that I was to discover whether Lydia’s change in line-up would lead to progression in their sound or to a dilution of it in order to satiate their now mainstream critics.

The new album opens in much the same way as the first on the song This is Twice Now, with delicate sounds of a sole instrument building up into a swell of more complex instrumentation with the fragile yet forceful vocals of Leighton Antelman, but with the support of, this time, of Mindy White rather than the prior Maria Sais De Sicilia. Now, to put it plainly, Maria Sais De Sicilia’s vocals on This December were divine: high-pitched without being whiny; strained without being nasal. One of my greatest apprehensions about this album was that the complementary female vocals would become a gimmick with a lesser vocalist rather than an integral part of the overall texture of the music. Luckily, Mindy lives up to the legacy of her predecessor with seeming ease: her voice intertwines with the treble of guitars and piano in a wonderfully delicate manner.

A Fine Evening for a Rogue is a song of the heart, as all of Lydia’s songs are. A clear disregard for convention is shown here, with the chorus showing a decrease in tempo and volume, and it really does make the message of the passage more poignant: loneliness is miserable and hollow. I Woke Up Near the Sea is a rousing song of the concept of promiscuity as an escape from danger, with the lyrics ‘it turns out you could fuck your way out’ pointing this out in a manner most plain, yet benefiting from their lack of tact. The ascent from verse to chorus is something most stark in its contrast, but delightful in its emphasis of the message of the chorus: once again, Lydia use the dynamics of their songs to complement the tone of their lyrics in an effective manner.

‘So I’ve been sleeping with this silence in my mind, and all I see scares me. And no one knows it, but she, she saved me’ are the initial musings of Antelman’s vocal chords over deliberately dainty plucking of guitar strings in the introduction to Hospital. The word ‘me’ at the end of this passage is the catalyst for an epic change to full instrumentation and half-distorted vocals up until the chorus, which sees another change to simple guitar chord strumming to more technical playing and an irregular but oh-so terrific drumbeat. This is another of their songs with shifting (possibly even oscillating) dynamics, but it is an ability to shift from one thing to another in the manner of an ADHD sufferer most conducive to good music: the lack of continuity is not a hindrance to the enjoyment of the music.

Fate is something of a disappointment compared to the album thus far: it’s slow and difficult to listen to. The drumming is a plodding rather then the engrossing innovative percussion exhibited prior to this veritably woeful track 5, the vocals of both vocalists have descended into a discordant drone: maybe it’s a deliberate technique to pique interest for the second half of the album, but it’s most definitely unwelcome.

Sleep Well is a return to form, with the jangly lead guitar parts making a welcome return to accompanying high-pitched male vocals. The antagonism between male and female returns rather than the half-attempted congruency of Fate. This is what makes this band great: each of the elements in its own right is simplistic, but the combination is something wonderful. Stay Awake is my stand-out track on the album: climbing from the initial almost-whisper bound to music by light strings and a quiet guitar to their full complement of instruments and vocalists with an almost primally natural flow.

All I See breaks any patterns which they may have formed throughout the album by being a consistently downtempo song, and a well-executed one at that. The male-female vocal dynamic is once again present and their voices mesh to form what could almost be considered a whole. Piano, guitar and strings only, it’s a veritable orchestral minimalist piece with complementary vocals layered on top. One More Day’s refrain of ‘don’t you say that I’ve gone crazy’ in its lyrics sticks fixed in the mind after only one listen: its projection’s clarity combined with the hypnotic oscillation of the guitar parts in its background make it a thoroughly addictive passage. The instrumental part of this song showcases Lydia’s instrumental ability in a manner, whilst ostentatious, becoming of indie darlings such as those which they are becoming. There’s nothing wrong with a little shoegazing.

…Ha Yeah It Got Pretty Bad is a short song with gothica-esque piano parts and simplistic vocal echo delivery. It’s a minute worth spending, most definitely.

Now the One You Once Loved is Leaving shows, for the first time on Illuminate, a female lead vocal. It’s delicate and eloquent in its mini love opera intent. From its chaotic, forceful start, it descends into a piano/strings combination with the full range of Mindy White’s voice being explored and interjections from Antelman adding to the rich texture of the song.

Now, whilst I have given a generally positive impression of this album (and don’t get me wrong, it is wonderful), it’s not a patch on This December. It doesn’t have the same emotional impact: it’s veritably hollow in comparison. The dark lust of Smile, You’ve Won is not replicated in any manner here. It is really a great album, and probably will be amongst my Top of 2008, but it can’t touch their prior work. Their music has and will continue to keep me sane, though.