photo by Katy Ng
"North Acton" by Hong Kong based Lucid Express starts with a massive beat that brought to mind 80's hip hop / soul pop, circa Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, but soon enough ethereal synths, spiraling heavenly droning atmospheres and painfully beautiful vox envelope that beat and you realize that Lucid Express craft an ethereal dream pop sound that feels like something from an 80's glitter ball high school prom. Images of teen crushes, broken hearts and big "what is the meaning of life" moments. I am seeing Molly Ringwald's beautifully sad face under a cascade of lights in Mong Kok from a John Hughes film that never was.
Lucid Express's blissful dream pop universe belies the fact that the group (from press notes) [formed as teens in the winter of 2014, in the turbulent weeks just prior to the Umbrella Movement; the latest in a series of tense pro-democracy protests against increasingly brutal state suppression in their home region. This piece of history is important to begin to understand the impact that these ugly times had and how it led to such beautiful music. As vocalist/synth player, Kim, says “at that time it felt like we have a need to hold on to something more beautiful than before. Like close friendships, the band, our creation.”]
By the way, the Umbrella Movement arose from umbrellas being used as a tool for passive resistance to the Hong Kong Police's use of pepper spray. A soft utilitarian object that is really a thing of beauty used to combat a toxic violent element. The beautiful softness of an umbrella is, I suppose, analogous to the emotionally moving and spirit lifting sound that Lucid Express crafts.
(from press notes) [Amidst the scenes of tear-gassed and beaten protesters, politically-targeted arrests, and death threats from government officials, Kim was meeting with like-minded musicians Andy, Samuel, Sky, and Wai in the small practice space they rent in the remote industrial Kwai Hing neighborhood. A place to create something that they could call their own. Something that lived outside of the world they were experiencing.]
[The accompanying Official Video was created by London-based artist Nick Scott (who also designed the album artwork) and delivers a psychedelic collage that transports the viewer across his hometown, while contrasting this journey against landscapes of oceans, mountains and clouds.]
Lucid Express’ self-titled debut (digitally and on vinyl) is out NOW on the US label Kanine Records. The tracks are given an extra sparkle thanks to the creative mixing of Max Bloom from those noisy UK indie-heads Yuck.
-Robb Donker Curtius
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM - PRESS NOTES:
kaninerecords.com
Bandcamp
YouTube
Lucid Express is the name of five young dreamers creating a stunning airy blend of shoegaze and indie pop amongst the skyscrapers, mountains, and packed alleyways of Hong Kong.
The name itself a modest mission statement of the band’s intent. Lucid in the poetic sense of something bright and radiant. The Lucid Express operating as the service to take the listener on a journey through the band’s color-soaked sounds.
The group formed as teens in the winter of 2014, in the turbulent weeks just prior to the Umbrella Movement; the latest in a series of tense pro-democracy protests against increasingly brutal state suppression in their home region. This piece of history is important to begin to understand the impact that these ugly times had and how it led to such beautiful music. As vocalist/synth player, Kim, says “at that time it felt like we have a need to hold on to something more beautiful than before. Like close friendships, the band, our creation.”
Amidst the scenes of tear-gassed and beaten protesters, politically-targeted arrests, and death threats from government officials, Kim was meeting with like-minded musicians Andy, Samuel, Sky, and Wai in the small practice space they rent in the remote industrial Kwai Hing neighborhood. A place to create something that they could call their own. Something that lived outside of the world they were experiencing.
Listening to their blissful, dreamy compositions, it may come as no surprise that these songs carry the mood of their times of inception. With all members of the band working late-night shifts, this led to a rehearsal and recording schedule that found the band playing between midnight and 4am, and then crashing together on the studio floor before returning to work early in the AM.
The results are ten enveloping songs of young life, love, and heartache in trying times. Brothers Samuel (bass) and Wai (drums) providing a locked-in drive that gives guitarists Andy and Sky the space to create towering soundscapes of delay, reverb and phasing, all tied together by Kim’s elegant vocals and synth lines.
While writing and recording together did serve as a unifying and soothing presence for Kim and the rest of the band, their music also fell victim to their complicated circumstances. Among the pervasive uncertainty over Hong Kong’s future, a depression set in and found its way into the local music scene as shows began to be cancelled and releases stalled. For a time, it just didn’t feel relevant to be promoting music.
While there is much to still be fought for at home, the group have finally begun to feel a fresh hope in their creations. They’ve reached an understanding of their music’s place amongst the world it inhabits. A sense that it is now time to unveil Lucid Express.
Despite still having their debut album ahead of them, Lucid Express have already caught an international buzz. NME praised the “shimmering guitars and whirring synthesizers” on their “dizzy debut [single ‘Lime’]”, while Drowned In Sound raved about the group’s “ethereal grace” and Time Out lauded their “dreamy live performances”.
Lucid Express, indie pop, dream pop, Indie Electronic, Shoegaze, ethereal tones, beautiful vox, Umbrella Movement, self titled album, single "North Acton",
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