Lucius Fox is a two piece instrumental band from Michigan. Often they are severely energetic. In short bursts, they are soothing and ambient. Usually they are a frantic mix of both worlds. When I saw them live, their guitarist Jeremy was playing out of two amps. I’m pleased to hear the guitars doubled, panned, and sometimes tripled on Quaternary Panorama. I bet you’re wondering. Does he use an octave pedal? You tell me.
Quaternary Panorama sounds home-recorded in all of the best ways. The drums are natural and heavy. The playing is tireless and clean. The guitars sound like they were recorded with real amps instead of vst plugins. Actually, maybe I can’t tell. There are a lot of tones going on but I think I can still pick up that signature Fender twang frequency. Aside from the fuzzy fenderiness of the guitars, I get some Satriani vibes. I could see myself surfing in the sewers of the future with a Lucius Fox cassette in my vintage walkman. I could even skate to this music if I felt especially suicidal.
There was a riff in Carved by Glaciers. They played it twice and then it was gone. It made me feel such emotion for a moment and proceeded to punish me with blistering noodleage. I don’t know if there is a name for mathy riffs that are just too fast to call riffs because you can’t bang your head to them. I felt like I was on molly and it wasn’t going so good but then… the riff came back! Better than ever.
The build up in Laurentide II: Birth is nearly unforgettable. I wouldn’t mind if most of their set was more digestible, like Growth except for one song just to show how much they kick ass. Maybe when they get really old they’ll mellow out a bit. A hundred riffs later, my heart softens for the proggy synth tones in Sunset/The Straits Ablaze.
Please don’t snooze on this album. Even if math rock isn’t your thing, you will still find moments of inspiration. You will hear sounds that aren’t recorded anywhere else. Do you ever lay in bed at night, fatigued from the work day but your mind still will not shut up? I think you should listen to a few tracks of Lucius Fox and try again. I’m pooped.
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