Luluc
Passerby
SUB POP
7/10
Passerby is an album rooted in time and patience. Since their 2008 debut Dear Hamlyn, Zoë Randell and Steve Hassett have taken the beauty and intimacy of their sound, nurtured it, and allowed it to grow. Opener “Small Window” focuses on the strumming guitars and honeyed vocals that made their debut so heartfelt. From there, each song builds on that foundation, adding carefully placed instrumentation resulting in more powerful and resonating sonic textures. The height of this build is heard on “Tangled Heart,” where strings, percussion, and horns all come together in an intricate haze, perfectly crafted by the National’s Aaron Dessner (whose production influence is most evident here). “Reverie On Norfolk Street” stands as the duo’s blossoming point: mature and subtly lush. While their previous effort felt more personal, with Passerby, Luluc took that individual experience, pondered on it, and emerged from it more developed and refreshed than before.
