The combined collaborative efforts of acclaimed U.K. artist Leaone (Lee-own) and American lyricist Mike Dobbins (Patience Gloria) who came together during COVID, Luminous Wavez is a powerful indie project that bases itself off lyrical and sonic themes that delve into a darker, more dreary style of indie music. On ‘Ashes of the Artist’, the duo combine bewitchingly catchy melodies with a mood that’s decidedly haunting and ominous despite the former. Opening the record with a very ‘Johnny Cash’ inspired track on ‘Revenge Song Spiritual’, that simple chorus line ‘revenge is my friend’ just comes off as so immediately powerful and resonant that you’re yearning to hear more. It’s slow and unsettling, but sonically so infectious that you’re instantly drawn into its mood.
As the EP progresses into ‘Ex Regrets’, the melody and tempo starts to pick up into something a lot more upbeat and melodic. The acoustic riff here is much more momentum based, carrying a rather bouncy vibe despite the dark tonality of it all. Carrying on with an introspective take on bad relationships turned sour and that rather hopeless sense of recovery we often find ourselves in, it’s a breakup song with a renewed focus and topicality. Then, as the album enters its second half, there’s a sense of empowerment that comes through on a track like ‘Let the Pain Be Your Light’. Here, you’re encouraged to feel pain as nota hinderance, but a tool and prospect to find yourself. It stands apart as the most beautiful sonic piece on the record during its chorus. But it’s really on the much more grandiose and empowering ‘Have No Fear’ that the album draws full circle. It’s a beacon of hope in an otherwise strangely messaged record.
A powerful, unique, and lyrically immaculate indie record that carries a light within its outward darkness.