Loxsly - Flashlights

“If I could only step outside my head…”

Lamprey Eels

Chopper

I’ve heard that Loxsly play a great live show. If they do, that infectious energy is missing in Flashlights, their EP follow up to 2005’s Maps and Organs. Instead, live-show unpredictability is replaced by a sense of overwhelming craftsmanship, an impression that every note of their four song EP has been tested, retested, replaced, and painstakingly honed by months of studio practice. This sense is most apparent on their second track, “Chopper,” a subdued six minute FREAKOUT. The track has vocals, but I don’t remember their exact words… instead, I remember the vibration of lead singer Cody Ground’s murmur, remember simple guitar riffs dropped into the song’s musical landscape like depth charges into a bowl of pea soup…

Track four, “Virgin Isles,” is another standout. It’s one of those rare indie songs which don’t use piano and organ as cheap tricks. Instead, the keyboards mimick and enhance Ground’s voice.

I mention Flashlights‘ second and fourth tracks as standouts, but Loxsly’s entire four song EP is worth at least a few listens. This is one of those album’s that will turn even the most crowded car ride quiet and introspective. It may be a departure from their more energetic Maps and Organs, but it’s at least as powerful.

Loxsly are touring the Southeast through mid-August, playing Athens’ Caledonia Lounge August 8th.