LUX INTERNA - Absence and Plenum - CD - 13 tracks - Eis Und Licht

Lux Interna admirably surprised us with their first work, adding an elegant and delightful sensorial touch to the sweet and acid singsong of dark folk. In the following, they were hence to pass the painful proof of their veritable first album, cornerstone of a career in the making. This obligatory test, a two-edged sword, shows the Americans in best form, however, nobly clearing the suicidal obstacle of undue repetition, confirming in the act all the good things we already thought about them. Far from being a mere successor to the charming "Truth and Beauty and all their Severity", "Absence and Plenum" explores a world that is certainly known, yet does so with blinding freshness and serenity. Their compositions are clear and limpid, reduced to the essential, finding their own way and originality. There are still those beautiful reminiscences to the Swans, Backworld, Current 93, or Leonard Cohen, or else Nick Cave, but Lux Interna's music lives by itself, without worrying anymore about its references, so that, eventually, it becomes an incontestable and unavoidable reference itself. A magnificent folk music, sombre and melancholic, where the acoustic guitar competes with the piano and the discreet percussions. Joshua's voice, grave and paternal, fills the compositions by itself, more and more seconded by Kathryn's, sweet and fragile. The titles gracefully succeed each other, a timeless and enchanting folk, occasionally followed by more martial and intense pieces ("Hunter of Echoes"), or interrupted by various samples gathered from different cities (Sarajevo, Krakow, Budapest) on the occasion of their past travels. The texts written by Joshua have gained an increased intensity, touching his preferred themes, be it love, religion, gods, Nature, the seasons, death, life, our powers, or our contradictions. An essential album which buries a period in order to better live a salutary, beneficial resurrection, at the growing light of a music that is rich and intense, beautiful and eternal. Lux Interna have also accomplished the rare feat of renewing themselves with panache, in all modesty, when unveiling their luxuriant inner world to us.

An indispensable delicacy. Very strongly recommended !

Stéphane F.
Winter 2003
Translation: Volker

Contact :
www.audiogalaxy.com/bands/luxinterna

Label : Eis und Licht Tonträger
www.eislicht.de