Review / 200 Words Or Less
Son Lux
At War with Walls and Mazes

Anticon (2008) Michael

Son Lux – At War with Walls and Mazes cover artwork
Son Lux – At War with Walls and Mazes — Anticon, 2008

Son Lux is the working project of one man, Ryan Lott, a multi-talented musician and artist. At War with Walls and Mazes is his debut full-length and over the course of it he dabbles in various worlds of experimental music.

At War with Walls and Mazes can be described in simplest forms as experimental as throughout the album, Lott pursues different sound avenues. Elements of pop, hip-hop, classical, and many others are twisted and contorted into a sound all its own. If you were to take Radiohead's Kid A and Beck's Sea Change, you'd be along the right lines. Some songs take more to the avant-garde leanings of the music world, while others are more traditional. Some are more upbeat; others more slow moving. "Betray" is a good example of what you can expect from the album; the song is mainly comprised of simple programmed beats and a smooth bassline as Lott repeats the lyrics in soft harmonies.

At War with Walls and Mazes is a great album to put on when you just want to relax and have something soothing and enjoyable to listen to. It's not bombastic, but it is also not boring. It's just right.

7.0 / 10Michael • February 14, 2008

Son Lux – At War with Walls and Mazes cover artwork
Son Lux – At War with Walls and Mazes — Anticon, 2008

Related news

Son Lux Preps New EP

Posted in Records on January 27, 2010

Son Lux - "Break" Video

Posted in Videos on February 1, 2008

Son Lux To Release Debut LP

Posted in Records on January 8, 2008

Recently-posted album reviews

Professor and the Madman

Dreamworld
FullerTone Records (2026)

ALBUM HIGHLIGHTS – “Brand New World”, “12 Strings and Tambourines”, “Adams Street”, “Temple of Madness” It’s rare to find these days. A band (or maybe supergroup, in this case) that defies all genre boundaries and just…creates. Alfie Agnew (Adolescents, D.I.) and Sean Elliott (D.I., Mind Over Four) are familiar names from Orange County’s early 80s hardcore and psych-punk scenes, but … Read more

Chat Pile

Who Loves The Sun
Flenser (2026)

If Chat Pile were a film, they would be a dark thriller. The kind that builds tension until the end and, once we reach the third act, still might not ever show the killer. It's plodding and intense and, while I just pulled out a genre reference, the best thing about the band is how much they defy conventional musical … Read more

Generacion Suicida

Hombre Nuevo
Vitriol (2026)

On the tail end of Autogramm’s 2018 tour of Mexico (what little I remember of that week now is a lot of pulque and not a lot of sleep) I visited the one punk record store in CDMX that I found via googling where to buy bootleg punk t-shirts. I’d already visited Venas Rotas Discos earlier on the trip and … Read more