September 9th, 2014 marks the release of Triumvirate, Pennsylvania-based artist Lou Rogai’s finest work to date and the first new Lewis & Clarke album in nearly half a decade. Rogai may not have released any records as Lewis & Clarke since 2009's Light Time EP, but having previously worked with the likes of Bat For Lashes’ Natasha Khan and Strand Of Oaks’ Timothy Showalter, Rogai has not been dormant during his time away from the spotlight.

 

Triumvirate is a 75-minute double-LP of seasoned confidence and meditative song-craft with a vision of clarity and conviction; a journey through lush and brooding passages nestled in a canopy of strings, melancholic melodies and warm, world-weary beauty. Complex, fragile arrangements mix with unexpected but natural elements to create a tapestry of delicate, intricate avant-folk / art-pop.

 

It may seem counter-intuitive for a person who makes his living through music to distance himself from his city of birth/nearby creative hub of Brooklyn, but for Lou Rogai, the breadth and dexterity of his work under the moniker Lewis & Clarke would have been impossible to achieve by urban means alone. Starting in 2003 with the self-released Bright Light EP, it is obvious that his surroundings have played as intrinsic a role in the project as any instrument. His geographical influences are entwined in lyrical imagery and metaphor, inspiring cascading, light-speckled atmospheres with intricate, wind-swept rhythms.

 

The debut Lewis & Clarke full-length Bare Bones and Branches and its follow ups, Blasts of Holy Birth and the Light Time EP (released on La Société Expéditionnaire, the label founded by Rogai in 2006), are immersed in seasonal themes, existential prose, and the cycles of life’s changes.

 

Triumvirate exists in the shadows between elegance and stark dissonance, shifting focus between light and dark while examining the beauty of impossible situations. Lyrically rich and musically gorgeous, Triumvirate is well worth the wait.

haulix.com