Lucas de la Rosa 'Sunlight Highlights' Review

A review of Lucas de la Rosa’s debut EP ‘Sunlight Highlights’ which will be released on May 15th 2020

Lucas de la Rosa has been on my radar, musically, for quite some time. They've collaborated with and featured on the works of other smaller artists that are also criminally underrated: Keor and Soledad, A Solo Project as two examples. They were also responsible for the incredible mastering on Ihlo's debut album "Union". Lucas has also been prolific with multi-instrumental covers of songs, crossover covers and much more on YouTube. But the two things I knew Lucas most for, were their projects Delsey Hill and Archætype (both on Bandcamp, both very talented groups). So, I'm sure a lot of you reading this already know Lucas as a musical genius. But of course, they didn't stop there. Lucas has now taken to writing and releasing their own masterful EP.

The first song on the EP, Lightrays, reminds me (in the best way) of Artificial Language's first album, utilising a playful tone that flips between heavier, punchier sections and lighter ones. There's also an amazing, unforgiving djenty section that keeps showing its face, which feels like Haken's "Nil By Mouth"'s angrier, steroid-taking big brother. I was kind of hoping for some vocals in this song, (silly me, it's an instrumental EP) - but the guitar solo at the end says more than any words ever could. It's a truly amazing solo, rivaling my favourite of all time (my favourite being attributed to Lucas' other project: Delsey Hill, on their song "Sleeplessness"). The solo actually towards the end reminds me of some of the eternally-happy and high-reaching solos from the end of Spock's Beard's song "Waiting For Me" - high praise but well deserved.

Sky (featuring the amazingly talented Sithu Aye) brings around sounds akin to Plini or Polyphia. It features a really nice mix of technical playing and really emotive tones. It's an interesting song, it has moments where it can empower you and drive you, and in some moments also feels like an overload of the senses and panic. Sometimes with highly-technical playing, I may tune out because it feels like it can lose meaning, sacrifice emotion for speed and skill - but Sky didn't do that for me. Particularly with the glorious, rhythmic ending, and the consistent emotion built throughout - it struck a good balance between the two.

If you need to get something done in under three minutes, listen to WAAAR!!! while you do it. Perhaps in an altogether different tone and style, this song has the same effect on me as Ihlo's "Triumph" - it takes over me and makes me feel like I could take on the world. With "Triumph", that's because I feel motivated; with WAAAR!!! its because it feels like someone blind-folded me, put a flamethrower in my hands and soldered my finger to the trigger. WAAAR!!! has some more operatic moments that I think Devin (and his "March of the Poozers") would be proud of. Overall, a brilliant, bite-sized song that fires up every muscle in your body.

As is the same generally with the rest of the album - Original Condition isn't afraid to speed up and slow down, changing mood frequently. The transition from the lighter sides to the dark is seamless, you start wondering "how did we get here?" - and I like how the music deceives you like that. The darker, more twisted side to this song reminds me of (The Incredible) Jolly's more evil side. It also has loads of amazingly groovy tangents - some reminiscent of Spock's Beard' "The Light", some (albeit small) part had me feel like Lucas might change the song into a dance number. It's also my favourite song on the album, I feel like it delivers every note, every section perfectly; no time is wasted and everything fits together so well.

I definitely prefer the more eclectic, "weird" bits of the EP that draw on many different styles, but the main body of technical or heavy riffs and solos do a good job of carrying the album with a consistently attention-grabbing sound that never let's up its fast nature.

Usually, I don't endure instrumental releases for too long - the odd song is fine, and even entire albums I can deal with occasionally, but Sunlight Highlights is not only perfectly sized, but so is each song within it. Each song also avoids losing my attention by holding a perfect balance of pace and a mix of tone and style which always offers something new with each listen. I would rate this EP a solid 8/10.

Sunlight Highlights proves what I certainly already knew: Lucas de la Rosa is an incredibly talented multi-instrumentalist, producer and songwriter - a definite force to be reckoned with. Make sure to stay up to date with Lucas on their latest projects - solo work, Delsey Hill, Archætype or otherwise! As always, thanks for reading!

- James Carstairs