The Return of Lucid?

As I think back on all of the CDs that have been reviewed here on Opus over the last decade or so, two that always come to mind are Baby Labyrinthian and Idylls and the Secret Remain.

Released by the Seattle-based experimental/lo-fi collective Lucid in 1994 and 1996, respectively, they remain my favorite examples of, and personal standards for, experimental/avant-garde music. I’ve heard a lot of releases that could fall under the “experimental/avant-garde” banner, but few, if any, have come close to matching the strange, magical effect that those two records have had on me.

The group has been defunct since 2000, when they released two CD-R releases, Aurora Sunder and Magnabella (which I, sadly, missed out on). But recently, there have been some small signs of life. Dale Lloyd, one of Lucid’s members, recently started a MySpace page for the group, which contains several songs from throughout the band’s career. They should give you a good idea as to Lucid’s eerie, spectral sound (though, in truth, nothing beats being immersed in that peculiar sonic world for the length of an entire album).

Meanwhile, on his MySpace page, Lloyd posted this blog entry back in June, in which he discusses the possibility of a box set of (unreleased) Lucid material. I really hope this happens: if it helps, Mr. Lloyd, I’ll go ahead and preorder a copy or two right now.

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