THE LUYAS play a record release show on November 7 at 918 Bathurst. See listing. Rating: NNN
The Luyas are getting weirder with every release, a very good thing. They started out as a fairly boiler-plate Montreal indie rock band, but on their third album they’ve harnessed their experimental tendencies into a distinct, ethereal, hypnotic aesthetic.
As far as risks go, starting with a nearly nine-minute, multi-part composition is a pretty big one, but it pays off. Trippy and hallucinatory, Montuno sets the tone. At times the album feels just a bit too airy, but it finds its footing when Jessie Stein’s ghostly falsetto blends with the band’s unique orchestral-psychedelic instrumentation more directly, creating offbeat but immediate songs that reveal new layers with each listen.
Top track: Fifty Fifty
