The Australian music scene keeps on exceeding my expectations tenfold. Variations of Light are a hip-hop/soul/jazz group from Adelaide consisting of Nelson Dialect, Alnitak Kid, and keyboardist Nate88. They released a brand new album titled Lunar Beautific back in April of this year, and I’m glad I’ve finally come around to it after all these months because it’s absolutely amazing.
The soulful, lo-fi tone of the album is what brings this album such amazing character. From the stunning Rhodes keys on “Dream Chasers” and a stellar verse from Nelson Dialect, flowing effortlessly over the jazzy production, bringing introspection to his raps. “Stay Low” has a strong, funky tone with the heavy basslines and retro, 70s feel to the instrumental. It features a gorgeous vocal performance from Laura Henderson, who steals the show for me with her soothing and soulful vocals to this gorgeous track. “Armun Ra” is a great moment, with heavier drums and personal lyrics throughout. “Petty Love” features excellent vocals from Melanie Rutherford, while the funky and off-kilter tone on tracks like “Pull Up” and “God’s Time” slow their eclecticism and ability to experiment. “Overlook Hotel” sounds more aggressive than the other tracks, which is mainly due to the bass-heavy beat and fuzziness in the synths and keys throughout the track. It may be my favourite on the album because of that. Overall, I’m impressed with this release as it shows a band experimenting beautifully with hip-hop, soul and jazz music while creating memorable moments throughout.
Listen to Variations of Light’s brand new album Lunar Beautific below via Bandcamp and don’t forget to support! Released via Bleu Avian.
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