The Luyas – Too Beautiful to Work

Rating:

While some people claim that Canada is just a cold place with Moose, and people that say “eh,” we all know that Canada is perfect for supplying us with excellent indie bands, such as The Luyas. With their interesting combination of noise, keyboards, and occasional horns and string work, they are sure to differentiate themselves from the other Canadians.

The first song and title track, “Too Beautiful to Work,” starts off with an infectious electric melody that is mirrored at every note with the candied vocals of Jessie Stein. Her vocals are choppy and match the mechanical sound as playfully light drums dally through the song. All the while through the sharpness of the vocals, the screech of violin resounds; even when the song breaks down before its finish, the violin elegantly juxtaposes with the feedback and gritty noise, and compliments the tight drumming. The sound stays relatively the same on the next few numbers, wavering to more chill numbers like “Worth Mentioning” and “Tiny Head.”

The next strong track comes with “Moodslayer,” as the crash of cymbals fill the space where the electronic beats were. Some classic guitar and ghostly “oohs” mark this sound different from the previous tracks, and shows the listener that The Luyas are not simply a one trick-pony of ‘experimental’ electronic sounds; there are some poppy elements to their sound by means of with some fine horns and xylophone parts that keep things light and fresh. With the voice of Stein, it doesn’t seem like this would be a very hard task for this band to accomplish, but with all the layers of noise that they create, it is easy to be bogged down by the weight of the instruments alone.

Evidence of the instruments growing slightly too heavy comes towards the end of the album. With some of the longer tracks, like “Cold Canada,” where the electronic noises stifle the song slightly, making it feel overdone and tired. Perhaps it is simply the distinct voice of Stein that allows this album to slide to boring and laborious. However, The Luyas kick out this streak of monotony with the last song “Seeing Things.” The simplicity alone of this track sets it apart from the others in that it lets the audience breathe a little bit. Soothing and delicate, it provides a lovely endnote for Too Beautiful to Work.

All in all, this sophomore effort from The Luyas wasn’t a door buster, or a flat creation. Somewhere in the middle, they made a fairly entertaining album whose standouts will surely linger in their ears of their listeners.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/01-Too-Beautiful-To-Work.mp3]

Download: The Luyas – Too Beautiful To Work [MP3]