‘LUMP is a product of Mike Lindsay and Laura Marling’ says Marling’s deep, sensual voice on ‘LUMP is a Product (Credits)’, against a haunting, vibrating drone in the background. Naming the project between Lindsay and Marling as well as their album, LUMP also seems an accurate name for the Yeti-like ball of fluff with streaked red and beige fur adorning the album cover. Lindsey, founding member of both Tunng and Throws, has created the album’s hypnotic synthetics that works unexpectedly well with Marling’s enchanting melodies. Both elements weave together organically, resulting in layers of texture.
When writing the album, Marling was inspired by early 20th century surrealism and absurdist poetry. While this certainly makes sense when watching the animated video of ‘Curse of the Contemporary’, in which our fluff ball Yeti crossover dances before an ever-changing background, it isn’t as obvious in Marling’s spontaneous, free flowing lyrics. Similarly, the album’s themes of commodification of online personalities, individualism and ‘the lengths we go to escape our own meaningless’ take a back seat in comparison to the delicious riffs and rhythms courtesy of Lindsay and Marling’s flawless voice. The sound of ‘Rolling Thunder’ is soulful, yet overall LUMP is light and playful. It consists of only seven charming songs, and since it’s unsure if there will ever appear more music from this duo, they are to be cherished.
[Aike Jansen]
qmunicatemagazine.com 