Lycia: In Flickers
Projekt

One would expect that after thirty years of operation, Lycia's darkwave might be showing signs of rust, but there's little sign of it on In Flickers. By way of explanation, one possible factor is that that long tenure included an extended break. Mike VanPortfleet formed the band in 1988, after which seven albums appeared on Projekt between 1991 and 2002; following a prolonged interval, 2010's Fifth Sun announced Lycia's return and Quiet Moments (2013) and A Line That Connects (2015) reaffirmed the group's status as an ongoing entity.

Perhaps another reason for the vitality of the band as presented is that In Flickers isn't VanPortfleet plus anonymous hired guns; instead, the album sees him joined by Tara Vanflower, David Galas, and John Fair, all of them past Lycia members. Though the recording started out as a few solo acoustic tracks by VanPortfleet, it gradually developed into a full-blown group project once Galas and Fair came aboard with their own contributions. Rather than resist the natural path the album seemed intent on following, VanPortfleet allowed it to organically evolve, the result being both a classic riff on Lycia's darkwave style and a logical extension of themes that emerged on the preceding two albums, ones having to do with aging, memories, life choices, fading hopes, and time's rapid, incessant flow; song titles like “Late Night Solitude” and “Autumn Into Winter” alone hint at the emotional terrain covered. A longing for simpler and innocent times is clearly conveyed on In Flickers, and such articulations lend the material an emotional resonance that makes it something more than a purely sensory experience.

Sonically, the material emphasizes reverb-heavy vocals, often VanPortfleet's lead backed by Vanflower's soft, ethereal voice, accompanied by guitar, synthesizer, bass, and programmed drums. Every song carries a songwriting credit for VanPortfleet, with the others sharing credit in varying combinations on eight of the ten. True to the darkwave template, In Flickers is atmospheric, haunting dreampop that, oddly, sounds both classic and fresh; it's possible to hear echoes of The Cure, Bauhaus, and Siouxsie and the Banshees, even if Lycia opts for a slightly more underground sound than theirs. It's one of those albums where no one song towers over the others and so is best experienced as a whole; that said, one could do worse than start with the punchy “Mist” as a good example of the album's sound. “25 Years” is Lycia at its darkest, in this case a plodding doomcore exercise spiked by squalling guitars, while the award for album's heaviest would likely go to “Rewrite.”

On the lyrics front, this verse from the title track is characteristic: “Silently they were taken away today / Their future happiness and dreams were just thrown away / Did they ever see the sun beyond the rain? / The only hope was they felt hopes in flickers.” As downtrodden and bleak as that reads, the album itself is no depressing affair; on the contrary, its presentation suggests that it is possible to sound creatively vital thirty years into a musical career. Other bands of equivalent long-standing would do well to follow Lycia's example.

December 2018