Album Review: Say Lou Lou -- Lucid Dreaming

Dream pop outfit Say Lou Lou burst onto the scene with pockets full of glitter.

Lucid Dreaming is the debut album from the duo, self-released on their own record label. Their music follows the classic formula for electro-pop, but with the twist of two lead singers.

Complicating things further, the two are twins. Miranda and Elektra are the daughters of Steve Kilbey from The Church and Karin Jansson of punk band Pink Champagne. As far as musical genetics goes, this would seem like the perfect gene pool.

Despite this, there’s not much to Lucid Dreaming beyond its lavish production. Everything sounds expensive and bright thanks to some heavy-handed studio magic, as aesthetics reign supreme on most of the album. There’s even a track named Glitter. “What you get is what you see,” the pair sing.

Shimmering synths and bouncing bass are layered on the following track, Games For Girls. Produced by Norwegian artist Lindstrøm, the song plays off the same vibe that made fellow Swedes Icona Pop’s music so fun to listen to. Unfortunately, there’s minimal excitement beyond this point. The songwriting is mediocre at best, and takes a backseat in the overall impression of the songs.

The album slows down and loses momentum. The production swells magnificently for Beloved, and Skylights has the kind of naturalistic lyrics that could fit well on a First Aid Kit song, but it still remains a shame that Lucid Dreaming rarely exists outside its atmosphere of sterile artificiality.