by Dan Goldin (@post_trash_)
The first thing you should know about this one is that it’s incredible. Let any words that follow simply be a reminder. Lrrr is the solo project of Tundrastomper’s Skyler Lloyd, a profoundly amazing band from Western MA that should be familiar to anyone truly paying attention to these pages. There’s a deep sense of craft and experimentation to everything his band does, from prog and noise rock to bent indie pop and explosive math punk, it all comes with an intelligent feeling of process. Lrrr is a different beast altogether. We had the pleasure of premiering the project’s debut back in September, a split release with Maxshh (aka Tundrastomper’s Max Goldstein), and now Lloyd is stepping out on his own with his full length debut, Whose News?. Due out on Friday, July 19th via the exceptional Sad Cactus Records, this is one of the year’s shinning gems, an album that is sure to drop jaws of all who discover it.
Cut from a similar cloth as The Cradle, Chris Weisman, and Chris Cohen, Lrrr works experimental music into the dreamier folk realms, creating a record that is both mystifying and utterly gorgeous. Recorded in bedrooms in Hadley and Easthampton, Lloyd’s use of lo-fi textures actually work to bolster and unite the detached entries from his mind, providing cohesion to the lush acoustics and gentle vocals. From the disorienting psych pop beauty of “Not Even U” to the field recorded sound of “Lyme” ever song is painstaking beautiful, with classical finger picked guitars, delicate harmonies, and the occasional diversion of earworm nuance. It’s the cool breeze on a hot day and the warm blanket on a cold one. Sparse in instrumentation but never in execution (see the lush “Sumac”), Lloyd’s ability to make vocal and guitar pairings sound this radiant is impressive. Lrrr floats through eleven songs in a cloudy bliss, exploring themes oft-mundane with a brilliant resolve.
Lrrr’s Whose News? is out July 19th via Sad Cactus Records.