Lights And Motion - Reanimation

It’s a popular time for post-rock. The amount of buzz currently surrounding Lights & Motion's new full length, Reanimation, is nearly as dramatic and encompassing as the music itself.

"Reanimation will be acknowledged as one of the most important post-rock albums ever to be made... and if this was the last album we ever released on Deep Elm Records, I would consider our 18 year mission an overwhelming success," says Deep Elm founder John Szuch. It’s quite a bold statement considering that the imprint has released hundreds of records, including albums by The Appleseed Caste, Planes Mistaken for Stars, and The White Octave.

Lights & Motion is the music of 24 year old Swedish composer and songwriter Christoffer Franzén. Franzén, drummer for Not Without Grace, is the sole musician on Reanimation. Accordingly, he learned several new instruments during its creation. In addition to recording and mixing the album himself at UpSweden Studios, he also conceived the cover art. Lights & Motion is truly the work of an auteur. Mastering, the only aspect of Reanimation Franzén didn't handle himself, was completed by Maria Adolfsson at MA studios in Stockholm.

From the haunting orchestral swells of the opening track “Requiem” it is clear that Franzén aims to take the listener somewhere. He is largely successful. Clocking in at over an hour with 13 emotionally charged songs, this record is a lot to take in. However, it is very much a journey worth embarking on, full of climactic sweeps and dynamic progressions.

It's simply amazing that Reanimation is the work of a lone 24 year old. A vast and epic collection of vivid and unearthly landscapes, it is extremely high brow, both intellectually and emotionally. That said, the sounds of standout tracks like “Home” and “Drift” are soothing and accessible enough to please listeners not necessarily accustomed to grandiose post-rock.

The depth of feeling captured in these recordings is as evocative and Byzantine as any prime-time television drama. It's no surprise that Franzén's efforts have been co-opted by companies such as NBC. Drawing an analogy to a dramatic television series works for what Reanimation embodies. Recently, Alan Sepinwall authored a book called The Revolution Was Televised. In it he argues that we live in the golden age of television, in which shows like The Wire, Mad Men and Breaking Bad far surpass the thematic complexity of any full length film. Perhaps we also live in the golden age of theatrical music, a time in which artists like Lights & Motion are able to achieve new levels of sonic-emotional intricacy in the relatively compact format of a song.

Throughout this album, Franzén strategically utilizes ghostly, reverb-laden vocals. There aren't any discernible words until “Dream Away”, the final track. In the context of a long-winded instrumental record, this acoustic guitar and lyric-based effort is a bit jarring. Still it is a strong song, in its own way just as epic as the rest of the album. Franzén’s voice sounds extremely young, a tiny reminder that Reanimation is the brainchild of a kid in his 20's. As capacious and effective as this record is, we have likely only heard an introduction to what Lights & Motion has to offer.

-Eric White

Lights & Motion

Reanimation

(Deep Elm)