Toronto electronic duo LAL have made their most club-ready album 18 years into their career, which is somewhat ironic, though they’ve always gone against the grain. But they’re still more interested in melancholic melodies and contemplative atmosphere than party bangers, despite the more prominent influence of Detroit techno and house on the new material.
While many of their previous recordings have featured an array of collaborators, here they’ve pared back to the original core of Rosina Kazi and Nicholas Murray. This shifts the focus away from the live instrumentation with which they’ve often embellished their songs, allowing Murray’s programmed beats and synths to take a central role.
Kazi’s plaintive vocals sit prominently in the mix, along with the social-justice themes in her lyrics. Much of the album was inspired by her and Murray’s experiences building a community around Unit 2, their west-end DIY performance space, studio and home. Although it’s a political album, Kazi tends to favour the poetic over the didactic.
A stoic sadness permeates Find Safety, with bouncing drum machine beats lending urgency and drive. Murray keeps the electronic instrument palette relatively narrow, preferring metallic percussion melodies and deep bass lines to buzzing synth leads. Only eight songs long, the record is concise enough to make that minimalism cohesive rather than repetitive. It’s a little too mellow for most dance floors but works better in the living room than most electronic music.
Top track: One Way
LAL play Lee’s Palace Friday (April 29). See listing.
