La Luz light up Leeds
Though the sensibilities are overwhelming there, La Luz is not a surf rock band of generic sorts. Neither singing about surf and sun, nor keeping their theme even somewhat light-hearted, the band hailing from Seattle use wave-riding riffs exclusively for sonic charm. Combining this with the doo-wop harmonies that all four of the band sing, La Luz undoubtedly sound like a cheery band. It’s easy to get swept up in the enchanting hooks and angelic ‘ooohs’ and ‘aaahs’ and overlook the more sinister undertones of ‘Big Big Blood’, the song that the band open their Leeds show at Brudenell Social Club with. Yet ‘Big Big Blood’ is perhaps La Luz at some of their least morbid. Off their 2013 debut album, It’s Alive, it’s an opening track that paths the way for the rest of their set.
As the set progresses, there’s a simultaneous increase in darkening subject matter and the band’s on stage energy. This is combination that La Luz thrive on, particularly on their second record, Weirdo Shrine, which came out this summer and was produced by connoisseur of the strange, Ty Segall. The majority of their set comprises of their latest work, which is, all in all, an inexhaustibly magnificent listen. As ‘Big Big Blood’ ends and ‘Clear Night Sky’ – off the 2012 Damp Face EP - begins, it is clear that the four-piece have been honing a distinctive style from the very start.
Where ‘Clear Night Sky’ has a carefulness in its approach, ‘Pink Slime’ sets an unruly fast pace; the band’s speeding staccatic playing kept under control by their honeyed vocals. ‘You Disappear’, off of Weirdo Shrine, exemplifies just how well La Luz have taken their strengths and amplified them. Playing with a casualness to their vibe, the song’s surf twang is kept contained until Shana Cleveland lets go for an eye popping guitar solo. It’s at this moment that it becomes apparent just how well La Luz play together, and play together live.
There’s a hyperawareness when listening to La Luz of the individual components at play – and this translates well in their live show. This doesn’t compromise their performance as a whole, however; weaving a complementary composition, the focus flows from Cleveland on guitar, to Marian Li Pino on drums, to Alice Sandahl on keyboard, to Lena Simon on Bass flawlessly. Where there is this shift at work, the mantra ‘everyone sings’ tops it all off nicely.
This is reflected on stage; the band occupy their own space as they perform ‘I’ll Be True’, coming together as enigmatic whole. For ‘What Good Am I?’, the words “sometimes I wouldn’t mind crawling off into the woods to die” come across dreamy rather than nightmarish. Here, Li Pino and Simon really come to the forefront, fully showing their technical prowess, and raising arm hairs amongst the crowd as they do.
‘Sleep Till They Die’ is instantly recognisable from its haunting riff. Simon on bass ripples into earshot, whilst the volume reaches a new high with Cleveland’s solo, shattering expectations with the pure mastery of Seattle band’s surf-rock guitar. ‘With Davey’ ignites the urge to dance across and throughout the crowd, shuffling and smiling unwittingly to the cheerfully acknowledged statement that “no one knows you when you die”.
There’s no better way to describe ‘Oranges’ than the ideal instrumental that gets to grips with La Luz’s technical competences, before the poppy doo-wopping of Brainwash elicits playful charm, as Cleveland lets out a bloodcurdling scream at the song’s climatic moment. Sadly, however, for all the crowd’s toe-tapping tendencies, there’s no upping the ante in the way La Luz seem set on. It’s as if the morbid topic of choice has inhibited revellers to truly let go and follow Cleveland’s screaming lead in a quest for fun.
Regardless, ‘Sure As Spring’ sees a particularly mesmerizing from Sandahl. The band then change the pace playing ‘Believe My Eyes’, which was recorded in the making of Weirdo Shrine. It marks a definite departure from their usual style in favour something hazier and mellower. It has an ethereal quality to it, but it’s not indication that the fun and games are over yet this evening. For their penultimate number, ‘I Don’t Wanna Be Anymore’ restores that strange surf doo-wopness, and finishing with the electrifying ‘I Wanna Be Alone (With You)’, in one last almighty wampow of the evening. The biggest danger of categorizing La Luz as a surf-rock band is that they will get mixed up in a realm of generic tendencies. When, really, here is a band with a playfully unorthodox take on it all.
