Say Lou Lou: Lucid Dreaming

- It may come as a surprise that Lucid Dreaming is actually the debut record from Australian / Swedish duo Say Lou Lou. The band has been sporadically releasing singles since 2012 so it’s not unfair to have assumed that surely there had been an album somewhere in there already. Over this time the band have accumulated quite a ‘cult’ following, so it was always going to be interesting to see if they managed to live up to the hype. Twin sisters, Miranda and Elektra are the musical legacy of Steve Kilbey, lead singer of Australian band, The Church, although you won’t find too much influence from dad on this record. Across the eleven tracks it’s all sultry electro-pop vocals and dreamy harmonies, expertly produced – in fact ‘consistency’ is certainly a highly appropriate descriptor for this record. The album opens with a succession of strong tracks such as the Japanese pop-inspired Everything We Touch, and the hypnotic disco of Glitter. Fans of early single, Julian - arguably the duo’s best track to date, will be pleased to know that the song made the final album cut. The beautifully layered harmonies really drive the lyrics, which in turn tell a strangely compelling story about a dystopia of youth. Things all become a little hazy after this, with tracks like the Kate Bush-esque Nothing But a Heartbeat and '80's pop styled Skylight becoming more tired attempts at electro-pop revivalism. After all the delays Lucid Dreaming experienced, it’s great to finally have a substantial piece of art from Say Lou Lou, but perhaps in a ‘be careful what you wish for’ type scenario, there’s just not quite enough here to make the record feel like anything more than a blown out EP. The Kilbey twins have always been consistent, but in this case, their almost religious adherence to their own sound has denied them an opportunity. There are some great tracks here, many of them would be a welcome boost to any electro-pop playlist, but as a record in its own right, Lucid Dreaming just doesn’t quite go far enough and truly justify its existence. - Clare Armstrong.