Stranger Forms

If there's a black sheep in Son Lux's discography, if any at all, it might as well be "Stranger Forms". Consisting of six reworked tracks from the band's fifth studio album, "Bones", which also introduced drummer Ian Chang and guitarist Rafiq Bhatia into the then-solo project and transformed Lott's moniker into a three-piece.

In short, this is one of the band's most experimental releases. It is also their most minimal and ominous release (save for "You Don't Own Me"), with many of the songs showcasing a sense of space romaing among instruments and samples. While some of the songs are awfully repetitive in a compositional manner, one or two showcase ideas that aren't present in Son Lux's discography. Structures that, unfortunately, do not appear in their later discography.

WHAT I LIKE: The sense of space is intriguing and works well here. The reliance on electronica and industrial music in some of the songs is also interesting as well, and lends its hand into songs such as "Cage of Bones", "Change Everything" and "Redone". All six songs are reworked into remixes (which was part of Son Lux's vision) that each encase a conversation: How can the original be made into something else?

WHAT I DON'T: An awful thing that holds back the band's wide scope of their ambition is their execution. Many of their compositions don't play with arryhthmic sructures well, as well as offer variety in drumming. There is a lack of dynamic here that is present (and even is here) in Son Lux's later discography.

SONGS:
"Cage of Bones": 7.4. Probably the song with least amount of instruments. The little synth riff present during the song gets me every time. Drumming is simple but effective, as well as the programming.
"You Don't Own Me": 7.6. Beginning with a rather solemn beginning, before bursting into a marching band-style song. Snares and percussion take full center here. If anything, this breaks away from the electronic majority here.
"Change Everything": 7.2. A rework of "Change is Everything", one of my favorite songs from the band themselves which has recently grown stale. It ponders me to the point that I butted heads with this song. It leaves me mixed overall, but the breakdown is restrained and bombastic that it leads to a moment of brilliance that shines brighter than the original.
"Redone": 8. The song where Son Lux should take notes of. It still has repetition, but it downplays it in favor of something more experimental and avant-garde. Completely sung by Olga Bell, in stead of the ghostly Ryan Lott, its tones of IDM and post-rock shine brilliantly. The ending is the best I've ever heard from a Son Lux song.
"We Are The Ones": 7.6. The most industrial song here, with a vocal ensemble, electro house-inspired and pulsating drums and Lott returning to the center.
"Breathe": 7.7. The closer of "Bones" becomes the closer here. An abstract, piano-led song that uses space the most here and ends in a dénouement.