i missed this, too. and, it....

when brighter wounds was released a few years ago, it was hard not to notice that it had this lead single that was obviously designed for maximum commercial potential, something that i sort of skirted around without explicitly denouncing.
https://deathtokoalas.blogspot.com/2018/02/first-impressions-of-new-son-lux-record.html

the thing is that i wasn't sure what was going on. were they leaning in a specific direction out of a legitimate intent to maximize commercial outcome? were they being groomed by suits in ties? wtf was going on?

it then sort of backfired on them. an act that a few months earlier was widely seen as the leading creative voice of their generation was all of a sudden written off as purveyors of the dreaded "millennial whoop". and, if you go to their youtube site, it seems to have underperformed, at least in terms of hits. their touring market then seems to have dried up, and ryan lott retreated to working on compilation releases with names like "remnant", suggesting he was giving up altogether.

so, this remix collection, which upgrades four of the poppier tracks on the last record into more abstract territory, and notably ignores the single all directions with it's badly received and somewhat confusing kierkegaardian video, is nice to hear.

but, it doesn't really answer my initial question, or alter my analysis from 2018. is this a re-embrace of the self, or an exit strategy?

these existential questions surrounding what ryan lott is and what he wants to do can only be answered in the form of a new record. i think it's clear what my vote is, and where my interests lie. but, i write my own records - i just listen to his.

https://sonlux.bandcamp.com/album/labor