Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Sufjan, Serengeti, and Son Lux are Sisyphus

The debut full-length from Sisyphus, an amalgamation of three disparate indie forces (Sufjan Stevens, Serengeti, Son Lux) commissioned by the Walker Art Center, is grounded in a thesis Sufjan relayed in a prerelease interview on the Asthmatic Kitty site: “We are all working towards nothing.” As much as Sisyphus is inspired by the abstract art of Jim Hodges, whose recent Walker retrospective coincided with the album’s release, it is also a reflection of Sufjan and Geti’s years spent on the brink of the abyss. “I am hardly hanging on” and “I’m prepared for death” are two of Sufjan’s more memorable mantras on the record.

Sisyphus is not the sum of its parts. Sure, you have your Son Lux electro trip-hop beats, your Sufjan falsetto and flute flourishes, your Geti character study, and that vague enduring sadness that seems to carry through the bulk of the latter two vocalists’ catalogues, but the whole is something few would have predicted coming in, especially after the group’s uneven 2012 debut EP, Beak & Claw. On Sisyphus, the trio has mercifully discarded the auto-tune elements that plagued the EP while keeping its whimsy and adding a layer or two of existential malaise. Geti and Sufjan play off each other well, as the sublime back-and-forth choruses of “Rhythm of Devotion” and “Lion’s Share” attest to, and Lux sews it all up with a composer's eye.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The grandiose nature of Sisyphus called upon Serengeti to rev up his delivery and pull deep from his bag of tricks. There are some scattered throwaway lines antithetical to his M.O. that one could imagine rose out of the record's wine-fueled three-week window of creation, but he delivers more often than not. The palpable anger in his delivery (e.g., “Rhythm of Devotion”) is mirrored by the fragility shown with couplets such as “Dishes in the sink, roaches in the wall/ Ain’t around my son so I bought the boy a ball” and the dramatic closing shift of “Calm It Down,” which finds Geti crooning “I’m on my own two feet/ But I’m not standing upright.”

Through 11 diverse-yet-cohesive tracks, Son Lux’s fractured, triumphant production provides the foundation for Serengeti and Sufjan to muse on drugs, death, and loneliness — and somehow make it catchy. The album’s closing track, “Alcohol,” is an exercise in Lux letting his hair down. Its frantic crescendo propels Serengeti’s stream-of-conscious prose and Sufjan’s muted backing wails into an emphatic exclamation point on a challenging, masterful group debut.

  • Album: Sisyphus
  • Artist: Sisyphus
  • Label: Asthmatic Kitty
  • Songs: (1) Calm It Down (2) Take Me (3) Booty Call (4) Rhythm of Devotion (5) Flying Ace (6) My Oh My (7) I Won’t Be Afraid (8) Lion’s Share (9) Dishes in the Sink (10) Hardly Hanging On (11) Alcohol

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Big swordfish, big marlin, and big money

Trout opener at Santee Lakes
Next Article

The Fellini of Clairemont High

When gang showers were standard for gym class

The debut full-length from Sisyphus, an amalgamation of three disparate indie forces (Sufjan Stevens, Serengeti, Son Lux) commissioned by the Walker Art Center, is grounded in a thesis Sufjan relayed in a prerelease interview on the Asthmatic Kitty site: “We are all working towards nothing.” As much as Sisyphus is inspired by the abstract art of Jim Hodges, whose recent Walker retrospective coincided with the album’s release, it is also a reflection of Sufjan and Geti’s years spent on the brink of the abyss. “I am hardly hanging on” and “I’m prepared for death” are two of Sufjan’s more memorable mantras on the record.

Sisyphus is not the sum of its parts. Sure, you have your Son Lux electro trip-hop beats, your Sufjan falsetto and flute flourishes, your Geti character study, and that vague enduring sadness that seems to carry through the bulk of the latter two vocalists’ catalogues, but the whole is something few would have predicted coming in, especially after the group’s uneven 2012 debut EP, Beak & Claw. On Sisyphus, the trio has mercifully discarded the auto-tune elements that plagued the EP while keeping its whimsy and adding a layer or two of existential malaise. Geti and Sufjan play off each other well, as the sublime back-and-forth choruses of “Rhythm of Devotion” and “Lion’s Share” attest to, and Lux sews it all up with a composer's eye.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The grandiose nature of Sisyphus called upon Serengeti to rev up his delivery and pull deep from his bag of tricks. There are some scattered throwaway lines antithetical to his M.O. that one could imagine rose out of the record's wine-fueled three-week window of creation, but he delivers more often than not. The palpable anger in his delivery (e.g., “Rhythm of Devotion”) is mirrored by the fragility shown with couplets such as “Dishes in the sink, roaches in the wall/ Ain’t around my son so I bought the boy a ball” and the dramatic closing shift of “Calm It Down,” which finds Geti crooning “I’m on my own two feet/ But I’m not standing upright.”

Through 11 diverse-yet-cohesive tracks, Son Lux’s fractured, triumphant production provides the foundation for Serengeti and Sufjan to muse on drugs, death, and loneliness — and somehow make it catchy. The album’s closing track, “Alcohol,” is an exercise in Lux letting his hair down. Its frantic crescendo propels Serengeti’s stream-of-conscious prose and Sufjan’s muted backing wails into an emphatic exclamation point on a challenging, masterful group debut.

  • Album: Sisyphus
  • Artist: Sisyphus
  • Label: Asthmatic Kitty
  • Songs: (1) Calm It Down (2) Take Me (3) Booty Call (4) Rhythm of Devotion (5) Flying Ace (6) My Oh My (7) I Won’t Be Afraid (8) Lion’s Share (9) Dishes in the Sink (10) Hardly Hanging On (11) Alcohol
Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

At 4pm, this Farmer's Table restaurant in Chula Vista becomes Acqua e Farina

Brunch restaurant by day, Roman style trattoria by night
Next Article

Gonzo Report: Goose may have indie vibes, but they’re still a jam band

Fans turn out in force for show at SDSU
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader