St. Lucia – Matter (Review)

First off, I must make a desperate confession: I am a huge St. Lucia fan. Ever since I heard their debut album When the Night I have been hooked on their overwhelming optimism and tropically flirtatious songs. If you have listened to St. Lucia before, there is a great chance that you have experienced the heavy euphoria that comes along with the listening experience of their music. That’s probably enough of my love affair with St. Lucia; I should really treat this as just another album that I am reviewing. Unfortunately, I can’t find a way to do that because their new album Matter follows what I consider to be one of my favorite albums of all-time.

I have to hand it to St. Lucia. Their choice to open the album with “Do You Remember” was a fantastic decision and sets the tone of the album perfectly with a song that feels brightly metropolitan. Moving on to “Home,” St. Lucia slips into their usual techno-pop ’80s vibe. In an alternate universe, “Home” could have been a song in a classic Patrick Dempsey movie. The lead single of this album, “Dancing On Glass,” is so vibrant that you may feel a bit of whiplash when hearing the next song, “Physical.” In a world where artists like to let their albums breathe after a rambunctious track like “Dancing On Glass,” St. Lucia chose to push the peddle to the floor with “Physical.” Their next track, “Game 4 U,” shows a sensitive side that is overdue for St. Lucia.

Matter takes a dynamic turn around track six with “The Winds of Change” and carries the feeling through “Love Somebody.” “Rescue Me” and “Stay” are two songs that definitely go together because they are opposite in tone; the former is hard core and the latter opts for a beautiful softness. Matter of fact, “Stay” feels less like a song and more like a revelation. The next song, “Help Me Run Away,” is too long for its own good. St. Lucia should have seriously thought longer and harder about how to finish out this exuberant song. Just as Matter starts strong with “Do You Remember,” it finishes stronger with “Always.” This song feels perfect for the ending scene of a rom-com.

The only question about Matter is whether it will ever live up to When the Night and, unfortunately, I will have to say no at this point. The unbridled enthusiasm of their first album is trapped underneath a layer of adult realism that doesn’t fit the persona of St. Lucia. I am not trying to say that this isn’t a fantastic album, it just simply doesn’t reach the heights of the first. In the end, I still love everything that St. Lucia produces and can’t wait for the next adventure they take us on.

About Jacob Sigmon

Although I am currently in the Division of General Studies, I am pursuing a major in Advertising. Outside of my work at WPGU, I can usually be found working on homework or helping organize the next big event at my residence hall. #GoCubs

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