Son Lux – Out Into

“We’ll find our way.” When Son Lux founder Ryan Lott sings these four words near the outset of his band’s propulsive ninth album, Out Into, he’s making a vow, charting a course, advancing a philosophy, sealing a promise.

What happens next? Lott and his bandmates —  guitarist Rafiq Bhatia and percussionist Ian Chang — plunge themselves into the most rhythmically sumptuous, lyrically urgent Son Lux album yet. Across nearly two decades, Son Lux has earned its reputation for splendor and sweep, but Out Into is something different: a punchy suite of tactile, detail-minded songs born from dazzling moments of collective improvisation. “We’re going places we’ve never gone before in terms of energy, attitude, color,” Lott says. “And it all comes from having reverence for those initial sparks, for treating the voice memo version of the idea as the most sacred iteration.”