James Wells
Sophe Lux & The Mystic is a solo vehicle for Gwynneth Haynes, the younger sister of director Todd Haynes, and the former front person for the band, Sophe Lux (a band who, I’ll admit, I haven’t encountered). Still, new name, new start and all that, or something.
All Are One promises ‘Glam-operatic rock’, and it’s a fair summary of an album that’s forged with analogue gear for a vintage electro sound and a keen pop bent. ‘Your Wonderland’ opens things with a thumping old-school gothy drum machine beat melded to a pulsating synth bass, some chilly keyboards and a dramatic vocal performance. Rumbling thunder and fear chords ripple through the folk-rock-tinged rush of ‘The Love Comet’, a shimmering electropop number with a dark edge.
The title track combines lilting folk with cinematic, soaring, soundscapes and an insistent bassline, bursting into a bold, heraldic mid-section. With elements of Eurythmics, Kate Bush and Queen all in the mix, the sense of scale is immense. Why have one drummer when you can have a whole battalion? Choral vocals swell and ascend to the skies.
The sparse, piano-led intro to ‘Infinite Colours of Desire’ prefaces a Stereolab-like bubbling analogue backing to a full-on soul delivery from Haynes (she gives some big soul grit on the groovesome retro-styles ‘Love is Waiting’ too. As the country-tinged radio-friendly rock of ‘Who Knows What Wonders Might Arise’ evidences she’s an artist who’s more than comfortable turning her hand to any style, and, moreover, makes it sound effortless. Such versatility is rare, and it’s even more rare for it to be displayed on a single album while still making for a work that feels cohesive. And yet All Are One feels extremely well-ordered, a solid body or work that’s more than a bunch of songs slung together. Sophe Lux has got something, and it’s more than wide-eyed flamboyance that says ‘artsy’: she has a charisma that radiates from every note and between every note. Mystic(al) and magical, All Are One is at once a pop album, and something joyously different.
Aural Aggravation 