Album Review: Lucifer - IV

Of all the bands we can lump into the category of 'vintage rock', one that stands out from the pack is Lucifer. With their stoner vibe and ethereal vocals, they are unique among all the bands that sound as if the last forty years never happened. The haze that covers their music is like the blur of an old photograph that makes it hard to tell exactly when it was taken. They are both fresh and timeless simultaneously, which puts them in a rare category. They also happen to be getting better, which is only serving to raise their profile every time out.

Their previous album, "III", was their best album yet. They had dialed down the doom elements of their genesis, exchanging it for a (relatively) sunnier approach that would have fit in an old exploitation movie. They had struck a balance between heavy rock and 60s melodies, and that album was an example of a band harnessing their powers and realizing their potential. "II" had been a good album, but they were still ascending.

Reaching album number four, Lucifer is in full flight. They took the formula that worked on "III", and have sanded off a few of the rough edges. This version of the band is like taking an acid trip through old-time AM radio. You can hear hints of the early days of pop/rock, but they are buried in fuzzy guitars, and a few guitar lines that remind us this is a band that would have preferred The Munsters to be a documentary.

You can hear bluesy doom in the opening riff of "Wild Hearses", as well as in a few other places, but it's used as an accent piece, rather than driving the proceedings. Those moments are the black eyeliner that complete the ensemble, drawn on so you know what you're getting yourself into, but not so thick it becomes camp. Lucifer is occupying much of the same thematic space as Ghost, but they sound like the band that would be playing around a campfire under the full moon, while Ghost is rightly called 'Scooby Doo' metal. Both are good, but they come from different worlds.

As "III" tightened the band's writing up, so too does "IV". From top to bottom, this is the most consistent album Lucifer has yet made. What it sacrifices in experimentation is more than made up for in hammering the nail repeatedly. Lucifer has figured out how their dirty guitars and floating melodies work together, and they don't bother trying to find an alternate route to the sweet spot. Why risk getting lost, when you're already getting where you want to go?

The only downside to the album is that the hazy film hanging over the recording does obscure the details of the songs a little bit. While there's swagger in places, and Johanna's melodies are alluring, the songs blend into one another to a degree. Listening to the album, that doesn't matter in the slightest, because everything fits together into a singular experience. Afterward, however, recalling any of the songs individually can be a bit difficult. But if you're the sort who prefers to listen to albums in full, that issue isn't one at all.

"Louise" is an interesting song, because the way the chorus is built around an ascending repetition of the character's name makes the song come across like a metallic version of the classic "Jolene". That's a sentence I didn't ever plan to write, but there it is. What's stranger is how much the song works, even with that thought in my head.

If you heard "III", then you already know what Lucifer is all about, and this album is an easy winner. If you haven't yet been invited to this seance, "IV" has its arms open to beckon you come. Lucifer is in the sweet spot of their career, and this album is evidence of that. It's hard not to fall for their charms.