FEATURED ARTIST
Who Are You Lutra Lutra ?? - Remember The Lines
Nantes, France
BACKGROUND
Who Are You Lutra Lutra's project is born on the windy french coast of Brest, France, and breathes somewhere where you can meet Damien Rice, Bright Eyes, Herman Düne, or Devendra Banhart. The tunes are sometimes soft and calm, sometimes loud and sharp, but always elaborated with a compulsive need for a strong melodic line.
Their fourth album, "Remember The Lines" offers 6 songs for twenty minutes of indescribable depth and meticulousness. This release achieves nearly three years of work, collaborations, choices, renunciations, and above all inspirations.
"Remember The Lines" marks a milestone in the creative journey of the 2 french musicians, as they are backed up by many exceptional artists, such as Maciej Sadowski (double bass, Poland), Ditte Barild (vocals, Denmark), and Norlene Olmedo (cello, Venezuela). I'm really looking forward to reviewing this project so let's go!
REVIEW
Who Are You Lutra Lutra ?? sent us their six-track EP titled 'Remember The Lines'. To open the project we're introduced to 'You Don't Know More', an acoustic track with raw reverb-affected vocals and an acoustic guitar. The guitar solos in this piece range from twangy Spanish guitar to blues basslines and heavy rock. This works really well even though it shouldn't necessarily work on paper. As the track progresses we're given a crystal clear piano melody that almost sounds like a mix of classical and jazz. It's well cool and breaks down the track before fading out. 'Dazzled and Gone' keeps to the acoustic feel found in 'You Don't Know More' but does so in a way that fuses classical piano with rock guitar playing. I really like the fusion that this group has cooked up in their sound. As the track develops we're brought a reverbed electric guitar, a choppy piano melody, and even a drone sound! Track 3 entitled 'Cloudscapes' brings a throbbing picking of acoustic guitar strings alongside the sound of raw vocals. It's a really dreamy folk-inspired piece that brings the union of two styles of acoustic guitar playing together. The minimalism found in this song highlights the words found in the vocals and gives a personalisation and sense of reliability to the production. I like the stripped-back nature, it makes a difference to the feel of the EP through offering the listener a clear break in the middle of the EP.' Track 4 entitled 'Emptiness' opens with a fuller sound with the typical indie-rock elements (drums and guitar) but quickly strips right back down into an acoustic feel. The drums become distant and soft as does the guitar playing along with an acoustic piano piece being brought to the top layer of the mix. This song also brings a duet of male and female vocals in its second half before a quick vocal break. I like the difference that the female vocals make to the feel of the EP. 'Words' keeps to the acoustic feel found in the previous two tracks but with a more twangy feel. Reverb is present throughout the mix to bring a fuller feel to a simplistic song. Again, female and male vocals are present in this track and the beautiful feel of a violin is brought in to add more emotion to the already emotive piece. Haunting vocal oos make a brief appearance adding to the hauntedness of the reverb and tempo found in the track. Ending the project, we find ourselves presented with the EP's title track 'Remember The Lines'. This song tells a story of a man with a struggle. The elements of this song are the most minimal found in the project overall. Guitar layers and vocals are the only instruments present during the first half of the track before bringing in a softly played drum percussion. Towards the end, we hear the classic acoustic piano make another appearance. Overall, this EP has a really nice feel to it. It tells many stories and brings acoustic playing to the forefront of its story.