Gregory Douglass - Lucid
2011, Emote Records
2011, Emote Records
Gregory Douglass defines the modernconcept of an Indie artist. The Burlington, Vermont singer/songwriter releasesalbums through his own record label, Emote Records. He's also maximized his fanbase over eight albums, with fans funding some or all of his last five albumsthrough pre-orders and donations. Douglass' 2008 album, Battler,inspired by a particularly dark season of HBO's Six Feet Under, was acollaborative effort. Douglass worked with Righteous Babe Records' AnaisMitchell and singer extraordinaire Grace Potter to craft an album that resultedin universal acclaim. The album spawned a video for "Hang Around"that charted for six consecutive months on LOGO TV's Click List Top 10Video Countdown, and appearances with artists such as Jason Mraz, ReginaSpektor, Margaret Cho and Melissa Ferrick. Gregory Douglass' latest album, Lucid,is a much more personal affair. Long a fan of dream interpretation, Douglassdecided to put his dreams to music. But this time out Douglas worked with AbletonLive, creating electronic layers and depth around his compositions,resulting in his most sonically ambitious work to date.
Lucid opens with "The Night", a dark, dream-likesoliloquy that plays like a lullaby for those who cannot rest. It's anintriguing start, simultaneously soothing and subtly disturbing."Lucid" is a solid album track. This is the first time Douglassreally digs into his more electronic sound, and the song is compelling for thechoices he makes as he layers sound upon sound. Like most first steps, the songhas some rough edges, but Douglass' distinctive ear wins out in the end."White Out" blends soul, electro and rock in compelling fashion,although there is an overly recursive nature to the tune that asserts itself.
Douglass strips things down a bitfor "Naysayer", building on a simple arrangement in subtle fashion.This is the most sonically compelling piece on the album. Listeners will sitand wait for the big breakout that never comes, but Douglas continues to buildin small, almost imperceptible detail, fulfilling the social contract of thesong but always leaving you wanting a bit more. It's brilliant. Lucidfalls into a bit of a rut in the middle, recovering on the intriguingmelody of "Raven”. Douglass creates tremendous movement in the melodyline, buttressing it with the dark timbres and shading of the starkarrangement. This musical climax winds down slowly through two additionaltracks, "One True Thing" and "From Now On", both musicalaperitifs that slowly draw the album to a close.
Gregory Douglass brings hisintriguing voice to bear against the stark backdrop of dreams on Lucid.The result is downright compelling at times. Douglass creates musical intriguewith a newfound love of electronic layering, but this is a double-edged swordat times, as it also fills in the nuance of his songwriting at times, levelingthe sonic landscape and creating a sense of continuity that is, at timesoppressive. Like many experiments, Lucid has its moments of grandeur andglitz, as well as moments soon forgotten, but the album marks the continuedevolution of Douglass as an artist. There's little doubt that Douglass learnedas much from this project as listeners will from listening, and will continueto build on those lessons as he moves forward. For now, Lucid, remains acompelling experiment from a prodigious artist; one very much worth exploring.
Rating: 3.5 Stars (Out of 5)
Learn more about Gregory Douglass atwww.gregorydouglass.com or www.myspace.com/gregorydouglass.