{"id":40634,"date":"2007-12-07T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2007-12-07T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/reviews\/arise\/"},"modified":"2007-12-07T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2007-12-07T00:00:00","slug":"arise","status":"publish","type":"review","link":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/reviews\/arise\/","title":{"rendered":"Arise"},"content":{"rendered":"

Of all people, Darius Lux initially reminds me — at least in the vocals — of ace folksinger\/storyteller David Wilcox<\/a>. Album opener \u201cThe Great Unknown\u201d starts out with Lux\u2019s voice low and crystal clear, enunciating every word with elegant precision. <\/p>\n

Arise<\/i> is no folk album, though. I\u2019d call it inspirational rock\u2019n\u2019soul, if anything: airy, hooky, melodic and ever-so-slightly funky, featuring serious-minded lyrics that are sung with conviction. A cup of Ben Harper, a dollop of Lenny Kravitz and a topped-off pint of Seal and you\u2019ve got the secret sauce for this rich blend. Adding to the impressiveness of this debut is the fact that Lux crafted these ten richly textured tracks almost completely solo, a true multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter-producer.<\/p>\n

And indeed, it doesn\u2019t take long for \u201cUnknown\u201d to blossom into an expansive full-band arrangement that lets Lux soar over the top with forceful vocals that slip into falsetto at key moments. \u201cLife Goes On\u201d bring a little funk into the intro before sliding into a gentle acoustic groove that builds to a soaring, affirming chorus. \u201cHey You!\u201d is another standout track, a rousing call to action with excellent singalong potential.<\/p>\n

Lux lists Hendrix and Led Zeppelin among his many musical inspirations, and while I don\u2019t hear it just about anywhere else, the rippling electric guitar solo that lights up the bridge of the otherwise light and acoustic \u201cNatural Beauty\u201d is surely descended from these roots. Meanwhile, \u201cThe World Keeps On Turnin\u2019\u201d melds Stevie Wonder idealism with a Seal-ish soulful-pop sheen. Closer \u201cReach For The Stars\u201d goes for a more urban sound and nails it; this might actually be my favorite track here, with its slinky, Prince-ly guitars and multi-layered vocals creating a potent gospel-funk vibe.<\/p>\n

I do have trouble sometimes with the type of hyper-earnest, purpose-minded lyrics Lux employs on most of these songs. The sentiments are undoubtedly sincere and I\u2019m sure some people will find them both resonant and inspirational; I just don\u2019t happen to be one of them. Your mileage may vary.<\/p>\n

That personal quibble aside, I can report without reservation that Darius Lux crafts an appealing sound and pours genuine emotion into these tunes. Definitely worth checking out.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":29114,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[8106],"rating":[5615],"class_list":["post-40634","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-darius-lux","rating-rating-b"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/40634","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40634"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/40634\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29114"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40634"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=40634"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=40634"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}