Ambient chemistries are the steady core for LIT. MAJOR, a piece from, well, LIT. MAJOR. A self-titled dream pop piece that brings out the subtler moments of baroque stylings and art pop too. LIT. MAJOR can have as many sub-genres thrown at it as it likes, regardless of what it falls under, it falls into quality time and time again. WWWWWH is focused enough to showcase that, an opening track that sets Lit. Major up for some eclectic mixtures and lovely wordplay. As expansive as it is entertaining, that fine line is drawn neatly and allows for gorgeous articulations that rely on breezy piano charms and sultry little slots of great clarity.
Even in that clarity though, as shown on a track like Meshes of the Morning, is the light doubts that flow through ambient pieces. Carefully constructed, and achingly, delicately slow, it makes for a gorgeous second piece to a wonderful, ten-track album. Constant streams of real lyrical defiance flow through these early tracks. Meshes of the Morning showcases an incredible range while The Old Times’ opening acoustics linger on to that of Bob Dylan’s Hurricane. That underlying stroke, active or subconscious, gives a platform to the constant lyrical qualities that LIT. MAJOR provides. Room is a beauty of a track, working through intimacy and detachment with genuine effect. That is the key to this piece, that genuine tone is taken with such care and it is underscored by some wonderful production.
That continues on for Tailspin, the nicer charms of LIT. MAJOR is in full force by this point, a delicate and relaxing piece of music that is equally as powerful. It takes those major strokes and pinpoints the necessity of its wordplay very well. It is the build that matters most for these tracks. How they can start with just a few acoustic notes, and drive in something to pair with that delicacy, Swimming is a grand example of that. Homegrown tunes that are very easy to listen to and hard to stop once pushing play. Cacophonies like this are growing in popularity and rightly so, there are moments here reminiscent of what The Waeve are doing, just Lit. Major provides a lighter, looser momentum. There are still notes of rage and violence, the tale told on Life in the Belly is the perfect example of that.
Even with those crushing lyrics of violence, by the end of Life in the Belly there is a raw and integral beauty that navigates a listener to the core of Lit. Major and the offering on this self-titled piece. Those darker moments can be overcome, and as guilty as they are, as quality as they sound, LIT. MAJOR is keen to circle back to those bright beginnings. It forms the core of the music throughout this album and does a good job of keeping that pace the whole way through. Echoed experimentation on Thirteen Ways of Looking opens up LIT. MAJOR to those moments that elevate this piece from the homegrown qualities found elsewhere. They feel humble, articulate and thoroughly well-explored. LIT. MAJOR is a treat of an album – a case of an artist connecting with the listener through his own truth and his own study of what makes the dream pop genre tick.
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