Light Matters — Light Matters (2019)

As we look at musical phenomena nowadays, some immediately reveal all the shallow motivation in them, right down to target audience and western references. That`s no big deal, since people`s needs in music, love it or not, are already prone to scientific analysis and systematization. But the fact that such a cold-blooded approach offends the ear and harms your ability to believe a musician is hard to ignore. And if you ask me about Ukrainian projects that derive their passion from within their soul rather than following a trend, then one of the first to recall is a Ukrainian-Polish acoustic emo project Light Matters.

You may call Light Matters an international project, but only by means of their residence. Guitarist Sasha Koval (known primarily as the guitarist of the punk band Maloi) lives in Kiev, and vocalist Yura Kasyanenko moved to Warsaw in 2014, abandoning the Kiev scene (where he was known as a drummer in Date Rape and Nice Wings, Icarus!, and as vocalist in Alinda and Салют!) and joining the Polish one (where he now sings in the wonderful post-hardcore band Bastard Disco). This condition, of course, had its effect on the creative process: according to the boys, they used to rehearse via Skype.

The eponymous album is the third release of the duo. The "Deeply Concerned" demo came out as a blend of unpretentious acoustic folk songs with emo touch and lo-fi sound. The sound consisted solely of an acoustic guitar and clean vocals. The songs were hardly distinguishable from each other but had some nice feeling to them. Next 5-song record of the duo (also the first official) was called "Men`s Health" and it had a rhythm section. Three songs sounded much more elaborated, and there was even a chorus in the most distinctive hit song "Backpack". A couple of great guitar hooks along with story-based lyrics made me listen to it more than several times before the next EP came out.

So the fresh eponymous EP "Light Matters" continues the tradition of sentimental melancholy in lyrics and vocals, but when it comes to the sound, new record differs dramatically. You can now hear synths and electric guitar on every song, also Slavik from Sterexy and +/- took over the drums. The acoustic guitar has disappeared and now the duo came to sound very much like midwest emo akin to American Football. The vocals are also somewhat more varied and in one song Yura making his screaming sound harsher than before. But I would say that the diversity, in this case, doesn't really come in handy: all the new perks resemble what you've heard somewhere before. And yet, it sounds more solid.

The approach to songwriting has hardly changed since their last effort. The literary vibe only intensified: seems that the songs are not moved by choruses (non-existent in most cases), but only by the urge to tell stories. Some stories are about other people. For example, one is about the guy who survived the end of the world and listens to Converge record in an empty shopping center and another one is about the conspirologist waiting for the planet Nibiru in a foil cap. Among those stories that look like autobiographical, the nostalgic elegy named "Lovey Dovey Stuff" is the most remarkable: it even has some kind of chorus and a touching climax.

Overall, this record demonstrates the development of Light Matters into a traditional emo band with a full electric sound, but it lacks attention to songwriting. Storytelling is good, but making stories sound like the "Backpack" song is even better.
I guess, eventually Light Matters and their current record will fall in the category of the Neformat classics, which will be remembered with special warmth in a small circle of devoted ones. Maybe we will even see them live on stage sometime, despite all the borders. So listen, dream on and remember: light really does matter.

The opinions expressed in the reviews convey the views of the authors themselves and do not necessarily reflect the position of Neformat.com.ua

Light Matters in social networks:

https://lightmatters.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/LightMattersmusic/
https://apple.co/2DSRtZJ
https://spoti.fi/2T18rP1 

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1. The Outliver
2. Waiting for the End
3. Life in Fiction
4. Somnambulance
5. Lovey Dovey Stuff
6. Imaginary Friend

14.02.2019
14 February 2019