Review Summary: Pop music that lives in a world of oxymorons.
There isn’t an adjective that is easily assigned to
God-Carrier, largely because there isn’t an adjective that can’t be assigned to
God-Carrier. It is harmonious and dissonant, soothing and chilling, soft and harsh, accessible and unfathomable. It is avant-garde pop in its most natural form, as just that genre on its own is an oxymoron. Trying to describe Lack the Low’s second album seems nearly impossible, because one illustration of the sound that Kat Hunter has created is completely null and void when describing the same song thirty seconds later. The frustration that comes from trying to put words to the experience created by
God-Carrier is exactly what makes it so successful. It is absolutely enrapturing and, luckily, that is the one adjective that doesn’t come with an antonym.
Lack the Low is the project of Kat Hunter, a Melbourne-based multi-instrumentalist and composer who is responsible for just about every sound on
God-Carrier, a fact that seems nearly impossible when considering just how many sounds exist on the album. The modus operandi of Lack the Low is pushing the boundaries of what pop music can be, with the immediacy of the hooks created being balanced out by the dissonant sounds and complex song progressions that are employed. This shouldn’t be read as God-Carrier being inaccessible. There are certainly portions of the album that will bring in as many individuals as it turns away, such as the near terror-inducing final minute of the opener, ‘Rushlight’. However, what comes before that minute is a pop song (albeit a darker one) embellished with influences from a number of different genres, from glitch to drum and bass to neo-classical, all partnered with Hunter’s versatile and powerful voice. To return to the theme of dueling descriptors, Hunter created an album seemingly without a specific audience in mind, meaning that
God-Carrier has something for just about every audience. In a fitting manner, even the lyrics detail at-odds topics:
”You say, ‘the sun’s a moon’ and so I must agree/the sun’s a rushlight over mountain tops/so much as ask and we would jump right off”
With that scatter-gun approach, there are certainly individuals who will be turned away and there are certainly ideas that are, arguably, focused on for too long. The slow build in some songs is almost too slow, with motifs being played just for a second too long before the next layer is added in. Instead of building anticipation, it can instead make the discordant slightly too noticeable. Even with those moments (and they are few, especially with the album coming in at under thirty minutes), the beauty of what Hunter has created cannot be denied. The bridge of ‘The Sharpest Knife’ has a nearly angelic build with a progression of key changes that leans into the power of Hunter’s voice before exploding into a climax that centers on her, frankly absurd, instrumental ability. ‘Small Windows' is hymn-like, with a repeated vocal line being supported by a driving drumline, organ, and what sounds like a choir, but is almost certainly also Hunter. (It also isn't a coincidence that biblical and otherworldly language is the go-to for the music that Lack the Low has created). Closer “Brigid” is nearly the antithesis to “Rushlight”, the aforementioned opener. It begins with easily the most stripped back sound, almost sounding like a typical contemporary indie folk song before building beauty blossoming in a similar manner to “Rushlight”, but instead of ending in cacophony, it ends in elegance.
That is the thesis and largest overall strength of
God-Carrier. Yes, it does live in a land of challenging dichotomies, but the beauty within always wins out. The dissonance, the chill, the harsh, the unfathomable - All of these elements exist in ways that only serve to make us take notice of the beauty that exists. However, this isn’t meant to be extrapolated as some sort of a life-lesson, as many of the overall themes of
God-Carrier, in fact, say the opposite. Again, these descriptors go both ways. The harmony, the soothing, the soft, the accessible - All of these elements exist in ways that only serve to make us take notice of the ugliness that exists. With
God-Carrier, Lack the Low has nearly perfected that balance.
