As vital trailblazers of ethereal darkwave, Lycia have produced nine studio albums that have evolved along a fascinating path: from the austere and cold drum machine-driven dirges written by founding member Mike van Portfleet into astounding dynamic soundscapes of ornate beauty that took Lycia’s distinctive bleak emotion into remarkably diverse stylistic territories. This breathtaking flourish occurred alongside the addition of David Galas and then Tara Vanflower to the project, resulting in some of the best albums of Lycia’s collection, such as The Burning Circle and Then Dust and the monumental effort that was Cold.
After the release of Empty Space in 2003, Lycia went quiet, with the odd solo effort from each of the band’s three members popping up here and there. It seemed Lycia were done, their tremendous contribution to a particular style of music mystifyingly underappreciated outside of their passionate fan base. Ten years later, Mike and Tara sprung a surprise, emerging from somnolence with Quiet Moments. With Tara singing on only a couple of tracks, it carried the feeling of something more of a solo effort from Mike. Nevertheless, it was a powerful reminder of the tremendous quality of Lycia; that they had returned not out of nostalgia, but as a group getting better at creating engulfing and exquisitely devastating music.
Two years on from that return, Lycia has now released their tenth studio album, A Line That Connects. This new record sees Lycia as a trio once again, with the immensely talented David Galas returning to the fold. If, with the benefit now of hindsight, Quiet Moments represented exciting prophecy, then A Line That Connects is a splendid resurrection foretold.
The new record is not just epic atmospherically, standing by its end at an hour and nine minutes. To their credit, none of this has been achieved by producing anything that gives the impression of being thrown in to seal up empty spaces, even if some tracks might seem more like bridges between others due to their relative brevity. Lycia’s new work holds you fast throughout with sweeping winds of scintillating gloom, compelling you to savour the fascination of the distant horizon. Each surge brings with it marvellous contrast, in one moment cutting across your skin with an icy regard, then effortlessly seizing your hair and filling you with the sense that you could take off and soar.
The sound on A Line That Connects rises as a sheer surface from the outset, like a towering unearthly cliff. If one were to debate that it is their best album since 1996’s Cold, then it undeniably has the best production on any Lycia record so far. The album glistens sonically as a treasure fashioned with great care, without being antiseptic. The huge effect of synths avoids the pitfall of suffocating the guitars. Whether the latter engages in clean and delicate notes and strums or eruptions of ferocious adrenaline, the elements stay out of each other’s way. The bass tones ring warm and clear and the vocals are free to provide the variation in effect and style that characterizes the album as a whole. When reverb plays such a big part, and when each instrument is aiming for the colossal, this really could have ended up a mess of detail bleeding into the amorphous. Alongside David Galas’ mixing efforts, the persistent genius of James Plotkin with the album’s mastering is clear.
Breaking the album down track by track can only provide a false impression. There is something for so many different tastes here. And yet, the album’s title resonates truly. A brooding darkness courses through the songs, whether each individual piece is lulling you into ecstasy or snarling with menace. Isolated from the whole, listening to the Swans-like industrial death march of “Illuminate” then the invocation of the Cocteau Twins in “Hiraeth” (featuring the wonderful Sera Timms of Black Mare and Ides of Gemini in a guest vocal appearance), one could be forgiven for thinking it was two completely different bands. Done properly — to sit down and lose yourself in the entirety of the album from beginning to end — the emotional connection is deep, powerful, and obvious. Whether you are a fan of drone, ambient, doom and other heavy music, goth, darkwave, shoegaze, post-rock or that 4AD sound (I could go on and on here), there will be something here for you to derive much joy from, perhaps broadening your palate along the way.
A Line That Connects finds Lycia as good as they get, a reverberant reminder of their priceless ability to create an immersive atmosphere built from huge sound. Such a progressive outcome through stylistic diversity shows that the band has a great deal to offer still, and should win them many new fans. One imagines that, more than twenty years after first becoming a three-piece outfit, this new album is as reinvigorating for them as much as it is for those who have long held a love for their music.
A Line That Connects is out now through Handmade Birds and Thrill Jockey.
The Black Captain will be hosting RTRFM’s Out to Lunch from 12pm (+8GMT) on September 3rd, as well as September 10th alongside Dave Cutbush.
